Definition of Disaster
by ClearVision
Summary: Disaster, an event occurring suddenly and causing great loss of life, damage, or hardship. Kagome has many, can Inuyasha help her? Some humor InuxKag NOT AU! Some things "implied". **UNDER CONSTRUCTION**
1. What is Safety

**I Have recently combined the first two chapters!!!**

Okies people…

**Definition of Disaster** –applause-

YAY!!

Disclaimer I don't own…Takahashi does…blah, blah, blah…

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A small hammer beat against a bell producing a high shrilling sound that seemed to initiate the swinging open of a door. It bounced back off the wall into the rush of students. A young girl caught the door with ease before it smacked her face, sending her sprawling backwards into a fast moving river of pupils. Her mouth was set in a line of worry and her eyes didn't have that normal sparkle every teen got when they are freed for the summer. She stepped outside.

The girl's raven black hair shifted as she scanned the school grounds before she took off running down the sidewalk.

"_I'm sooo late! He's going to kill me!"_ Kagome thought as she sprinted. The trees that were lining her path shivered. She stopped. _"What was that?"_ The young miko looked around her. A few pigeons, who were frightened for their lives when they saw Kagome running at them full speed, began to settle back down to their original spots on the ground. Her attention was now directed at the pigeons. She yelled, "Get out of my way you stupid birds! I'm late!!" She flailed her arms in an impatient manner.

"You're more than late." A very pissed hanyou jumped off some branch to stand in his normal "I-don't-care" or "I-am-sooo-ticked-off-right-now-but-I-am-refrianing-from-strangling-you" pose. Either way, Inuyasha had his arms folded across his chest with clawed hands tucked into his haori sleeves.

"Look Inuyasha, I'm sorry! I just had another test that I didn't know about until my friends told me last night when we went out to dinner-"

"So you went out to dinner instead of studying? That's a real smart way to waste you time, wench!" They both took a step closer to each other. Inuyasha still held his pose as he leaned into Kagome's face, glaring.

The girl, in turn, pinned the hanyou with a glare of her own. "You _know_ what I was talking about!!! Don't you **DARE** take my words and twist them!! Jerk!" With her final word, the miko poked him in the ribs. The two were nose-to-nose.

"_At least he was intelligent enough to wear the hat…"_ Kagome shook her head, breaking her glare. She sighed, "Can we just go?"

Inuyasha's glare softened for a split second until he shifted his gaze past Kagome, down the sidewalk. Under his hat, the hanyou prepared himself.

"**KAAGOOMEE!!!**" Said miko looked up at the man in front of her with apologizing eyes.

"Make this quick, wench." Inuyasha warned, never breaking his gaze from the three girls that always seemed to want the poor girl's attention.

Kagome slowly turned to meet the three. "Hey, girls! Um, I'm going to be kinda busy…um…in the next…" She hesitated. _"What am I supposed to say? In the next couple of months? For the whole summer? I practically sold my soul when I told Inuyasha I wouldn't have school for the summer and could spend most of my time on his side of the well! Uhh! I'm so stupid!" _

"Kagome?" Yumi ventured.

"Eh?" The girl dragged herself out of her thoughts.

"So…you'll be free for the fair next weekend?" Ami gushed, obviously excited.

"Well…I-I…"

"Come _on_, Kagome! You've barely had time to hang out with us since your flesh-eating bacteria have been acting up again! But now that you're better, you can-"

When Inuyasha saw the look on the miko's face he cleared his throat, "Uh, hey! What's that?" The hanyou seemed to be very amazed with something behind the trio's heads.

"What?" The girls whipped around simultaneously. It was just enough time for Inuyasha to grab Kagome and jump high over the trees, out of the three schoolgirls' sight. "I don't see anything." Eri pointed out.

They turned back around to find Inuyasha and Kagome gone. "Guess she had another attack and made her boy-friend take her home." Ami sighed undoubtedly in a romantic dreamland.

"Yeah." The other two girls smiled.

-----

"**INUYASHAA!!!**" Kagome screamed as the hanyou positioned her on his back while flying through the air. "PUT ME DOWN-AAAHHHHH!!!" The miko squealed as her ride took a very steep plunge.

"Ha! As if! You were taking way too long for my taste, bitch!!" Inuyasha yelled back at his luggage as he leapt off another branch, shaking the leaves around them, high into the air.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome yelled, glaring at the back of his head. "Sit."

-----

A little ways down a road and old couple sat in the middle of a well-forested park. They were talking of nothing, really. Just talking. Suddenly, the two were disturbed from their nothing-talk as they heard faint screams.

"...mother... FUCKING...**BITCH!!!**" A masculine voice bellowed.

"INUYASHA-AAHHHH!!!" A feminine voice squealed something like a name before it swooped up into a deafening screech.

The old couple desperately tried to cover each other's ears, not for the volume of the screams but for the cursing now coming from both voices. With wide eyes, the old man and woman watched as two forms came from out of the sky. One clad in bright red clothing, flapping about him, as he held a girl safely on his back and with glowing pink beads around his neck. And the other, the same girl on the silver haired boy's back, was furiously trying to secure her skirt around her butt so her underwear didn't show. It wasn't working.

The two kept falling. Then—

_**SLAM**_

All birds in the wooded park squalled and shrieked at the sound…then returned to their doings.

When the dust cleared to reveal the silver-haired man and school girl, they were sprawled on top of each other with their contorted limbs sticking out every which way. The man was in a spread-eagle position under the girl and was mumbling something incoherent very loudly. Both hastily jumped up like they hadn't just fallen more than 100 feet out of the sky and began yelling in the other's face.

"OMIGOSH!! INUYASHA! I AM SOOO SORRY! I shouldn't have done that! I was so stupid!!!" The girl began to wail.

"DAMN RIGHT, BITCH!! You could have been injured! Or KILLED! What were you thinking?!?" The man clad in red rapped her head with his fist.

"OW! Hey! That hurt!" The schoolgirl rubbed her abused scalp and then continued to yell at the poor man. "OHH!!" The young man gave the girl a weird look when she produced something like a growl. "And you listen here _mister_! What gives you the right to drag me away from my friends without saying goodbye?!?"

They stepped closer to each other and the man pointed an accusing finger at her. "You call them your _friends_? They were practically forcing you to do this _fair_ thing with them! When will we look for the shards then, huh?!"

"Shards? SHARDS?!?"

-----

Kagome was mad. She was more than mad. She was furious! She was "$#&!" Oh, yeah. She was mad.

Just when she thought he was really concerned for her health he goes and says something like that. "**SHARDS!** That's all that matters to you!!!" The young miko looked close to tears when she buried her face in her hands.

"Uh…Hey! No! I mean…Ka-Kagome! Don't cry!" Inuyasha waved his hands in front of him, pleading; as he stooped down to take her by the shoulders. "Wench?"

"T-take me home…" She sniffed from behind her hands and whimpered. "I'm sorry. Just please, take me home."

"I didn't want for you to cry…Kagome? Can you walk? Did you get hurt from the fall? Do you need me to carry you?"

The old couple on the park bench watched as the younger couple before them went from argument to apologizing in five seconds flat.

When he got an affirmative from the miko, Inuyasha gently picked her up, placing the woman on his back. Then, for the first time, the poor hanyou realized that they had spectators. "What are you looking at?" He pointed a glare at the old man and woman and watched as they hobbled away, still in shock.

Kagome tweaked Inuyasha's ear after his comment and smiled at him when he just "Keh'd" over his shoulder. "You didn't have to be mean about it you know…Hey, where's you hat?"

She felt him shrug beneath her. "Guess it fell off."

At that moment, Kagome got that strangest urge to bite his twitching ear. No God probably knows what possessed her to do it (maybe not even the devil X3)…but she did.

When Inuyasha felt the girl's hot breath upon his furry appendage, a jolt of pleasure shot down his spine to his groin. And when her teeth grazed the edge of his ear…let's just say he got a little stiffer at one place on his body. "SHHIIIITT!" The hanyou doubled over, making Kagome slide off his back onto her bottom.

"Oof! What is it Inuyasha?"

"Keh." _"As if she doesn't know!"_ "You can't just go around biting peoples ears!!"

"Eh…sorry." The young miko said in a small voice. She blushed.

"What'd you do that for anyway?" Inuyasha was starting to recover.

"Uh…Hey, um, I promise I'll never do it again…can we get going now? It'll be midnight if we keep this up. Then we will never make it to the other side of the well." Kagome awkwardly tried to change the subject.

At the mention of jewel shard hunting, the hanyou quickly picked the girl up and placed her on his back once again. "You're right. Let's go." He spat out gruffly. _"Keh…that was weird…"_

-----

Leaves fluttered in the spring breeze, lifting a young girl's black hair to mingle with a hanyou's silver. Her black lashes eventually came to a rest on her cheeks as her breath evened out, a sure sign that the miko had fallen asleep.

Inuyasha's ears twitched and he smiled, noting how Kagome almost always slept (except for during battles) when she was on his back. Her delicate, pale hands were draped across his shoulders with her head sleepily lolling on his back. "Damn, limp wench." The golden-eyed boy muttered after, once again, shifting the girl into a better position so she wouldn't fall off. He gripped her thighs as she slowly began to slide off again. "Damn it." He whispered.

The hanyou soon realized that it would be much easier to carry her in his arms than to have her flopping on to the ground if he accidentally lost his weak hold on her on his back.

A few grunts and curses later, Kagome was safely cradled in Inuyasha's arms. The silver-haired man continued his trek to the shrine.

The pleasant spring breeze soon turned into a winter gale as the sun went down, causing the hanyou to draw the girl in his arms closer to his body in attempt to warm her. The harsh wind whipped Inuyasha's hair into his face, and then he felt Kagome shiver. "Shit." He thought about stopping to take off his haori and pull it over the young miko but then that would waste time.

The hanyou's feet came to a stop as he mentally punched himself. _"Why aren't I running to the shrine?"_

He took off at a sprint.

-----

Inuyasha entered Kagome's house silently. With his keen sense of smell, he realized that the miko's family wasn't home. When closing the door behind him, the hanyou saw a note on the kitchen table. Being Inuyasha, he ignored it and set off for Kagome's room.

Right when he opened her door, he was met with the girl's delicious scent. Inhaling her smell as much as he could, so it would stay in his system like a drug with a much better high, the hanyou laid the young woman in his arms on to her bed. Kagome sighed but stubbornly kept a firm grip on his haori. When Inuyasha tried to pluck her thin fingers off the red fabric, she made a displeased noise at the back of her throat that sounded oddly like a growl. The hanyou's eyes widened and he blushed. Good thing she wasn't awake, or she would have definitely noticed how turned on he was by that growl.

Deciding that she wouldn't be letting go anytime soon, Inuyasha slipped down onto the bed with the small miko, blushing all the while, and silently laid there staring at Kagome's porcelain features. Being this close to the girl did not rid himself of his seemingly permanent blush, but it did allow him to officially confirm that there was not a single similarity between Kikyou and the woman before him. _"One, she's not deathly pale…her face always has some kind of gentle glow to it. Her smile makes me want to smile…it's contagious. And her eyes. Pools of deep chestnut…What the fuck? I sound like some gay poet!"_ His face suddenly twisted into a snarl from the calm expression he had earlier. _"She is kinda pretty though."_

"_KINDA pretty? __**KINDA**__ pretty?!? She's beautiful!"_ At that thought from the side (more like corner) of his brain, that sounded annoyingly similar to Miroku, Inuyasha's eyes widened even more and his face suddenly resembled a ripe tomato. After a while, he cooled off and found that his hand was twitching from the urge to touch her cheek. The hanyou gave in. She _was_ asleep after all. He saw Kagome smile as his clawed thumb stroked her under the eye.

"_She __**is**__ beautiful."_

-----

In the early morning…_very_ early morning, sometime around two…long curtains blew in the gentle wind that was coming from a cracked window. The moon, obviously hidden by the sudden overcast, was not to be seen, along with the few stars that the naked eye could make out in the city. Therefore, the only light that washed over a young couple in a pink-themed room was from the never-sleeping city glow.

The rumpled sheets were strewn over the couples' bodies but were not necessarily needed for the young, silver-haired man was decked out in a thick looking red cloth as he embraced the young woman, who was facing him, draping his huge sleeves over her torso. He had also tucked her legs and feet under his, so he appeared to be protecting the woman from the breeze filtering through her cracked window.

The man shifted and unconsciously tugged the woman closer.

Their foreheads touched.

They brushed noses.

Their lips met.

It was as if something sparked in both of their minds because once their mouths locked, both pairs of eyes immediately snapped open.

Kagome's cheeks ignited, and a light blush revealed itself to the world on Inuyasha's face. But for a while, neither made a move to end the kiss. Hastily, and simultaneously, they both jumped away from each other. The miko, apparently down on her luck, fell off the bed and on her backside emitting an, "oof!" as the floor said hello to her butt. The hanyou, apparently stupid, backed into the wall, knocking it on his head.

At the same time, they whispered, "Sorry!"

Then Inuyasha took the floor, (AN-So to speak, of course, because Kagome was technically the one on the floor.) "I-I didn't…I didn't mean to! It-it was nothing!" He rubbed his injured head and didn't meet her eyes.

Kagome meekly nodded and looked away, blushing.

"S-so…don't look too much into it, wench." The hanyou seemed to add as an afterthought.

Eventually, their two gazes joined and both looked as if they were trying to interrogate each other without actually speaking.

"_That…was…breathtaking."_ Kagome sighed, offering a small smile to the confused looking hanyou.

"_Her lips were so soft. I wonder if she would mind…"_ Inuyasha took on an expression of surprise at his train of thought. _"Damn it! Get your head out of the gutter!"_

Suddenly, the man's brows furrowed as his furry, white appendages twitched.

The girl looked at him quizzically and whispered, "I-Inuyasha?"

"Shh." His ears began to move more rapidly, and then the sound of glass breaking filled the house.

Kagome's eyes widened in fear as she gasped, still whispering, "Inuyasha!" The young woman was instantly in his arms.

"Shh!" Everything was quiet for a while as he set the miko down. Grasping her arms, the hanyou looked into her eyes. "You stay here." He breathed, "I'll go find out what's happening."

"Inuyash-" Kagome began, frightened for him.

"Quiet, wench." He met her eyes again…lovingly? "You stay here. I'll be fine. Don't worry, Kagome, I'm going to protect you."

And with that, he silently left her room and closed the door.

-----

HAHAHA!!! **CLIFFY**! Mwahaha…I am sooooo evil.

But you guys love me right? –dodges tomatoes-

-glares- Shup foos.

So…I decided to end the first chappie here. Good so far? –shrugs- I don't really care if you review cuz I hate it when people say, "I have to get 5 reviews before the next chapter, or I won't write anymore." Now, that's just crap. If you wanted to write the story in the first place, then you should finish it too:P

I have no frikkin idea where that "bite his ear" thing came from…SO DON'T ASK ME! XP

As Inuyasha always says,

KEH!

-KikyouHater-


	2. What is Risks

**I Have recently combined the first two chapters!!!**

**Definition of Disaster**

I'm just going to get right to it now…

Disclaimer I FRIKKIN DON'T OWN SHIT, OKAY?!?!?

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It was less than a second.

In less than a second, after the door to her room clicked shut, Kagome ran for it and gripped the knob, twisting it, panicking. She immediately heard loud shouts from down stairs. She did not recognize one voice but soon heard another. It was Inuyasha's.

Noting that the sounds were emitting from the kitchen, she ran there. Kagome stopped at the archway that led into the room and screamed the hanyou's name. "Inuyasha!" A man clothed in all black was brandishing a knife and had it held in front of him threatingly. In his other gloved hand he was grasping a bag filled to the brim with old shrine relics.

Unknowingly, the miko's fingers flew to the jewel around her neck like she would near any menace. Under the burglar's black mask, his eyes narrowed, centering on the necklace on the young woman.

Realizing what had just happened, Inuyasha was rapidly at Kagome's side with one arm around her waist. The hanyou drew the miko to his chest and held her there.

"Get out of the shrine and leave the bag here if you don't want to get killed." Inuyasha ground out.

Kagome could imagine the heinous man before them raising a doubtful eyebrow at them under his mask as he drawled, "And why would I ever do that, you silver-haired freak."

The Inu-hanyou enveloping Kagome embraced her tighter and growled.

The burglar spoke again, "I should be the one saying the threats here. Give me that oh-so-important necklace, whore, or I'll slice it off your neck." The man didn't have a chance to finish the cocky flip of his dagger before he was slammed against the wall by a clawed hand.

With his bangs covering his eyes, Inuyasha snarled, "_Never_ insult her." The hanyou swung his fist and punched the man. He was just about to end the black-clothed man's life when Kagome's muffled scream and gasp ripped through the air. The hanyou let go of the burglar and spun around. The injured man slumped to the ground and didn't make a move to get back up because of the lack of oxygen.

Inuyasha turned to face another man, almost identical to the man behind him, clutching his beloved miko around the hips with a blade to her throat. "Let my comrade go free, beast, or your wench dies." The man smirked as he fingered the edge of Kagome's pleated skirt. Inuyasha inaudibly growled. The man's hand ventured lower and rubbed her thigh. Inuyasha growled loudly as his irises flashed red. "And I might just take this pretty necklace with me." The hanyou's eyes widened, now their normal golden color. The burglar barked a laugh. "Seems quite important to you both."

Kagome choked, 'Inu…don't…"

The said hanyou suddenly burst forth with a roar and, faster than any human could see, was on top of the nefarious man, who was already knocked out. The young miko collapsed on the floor, thrown gently to the side, and began to shake with fear as her hanyou threw the burglar across the room.

She whimpered. Upon hearing this sound, Inuyasha spun towards the woman and began to sniff her, delicately touching her shoulders to let her know he was there. "Kagome? Did he hurt you?" She whimpered again. "Kagome." He gathered her in his arms.

"Inu…" the poor girl broke down and sobbed. "I was so frightened! He-he…!"

"It's okay, Kagome…" Inuyasha wiped away the miko's tears. _"I was so afraid that I was going to lose you. But I promise to make sure that __**never**__ happens. Kagome."_

Wrapped up in his thoughts, he almost didn't hear the girl in his hold speak, "I have to call the police. They'll arrest these men…you know…punish them, but reasonably…and they'll help with this mess." Kagome's arm weakly gestured at the torn up chaos of her living room while she looked up to Inuyasha with watery eyes. "Could you tie them up for me? There's some rope in the well house." The man holding the miko set her down softly and nodded. Kagome sniffed, "Inuyasha?"

He grasped her by the arms as she saw his eyes widen again with his gaze at her neck, "Kagome! You're hurt!" Still shaken, the woman gasped and was about to touch her small wound, but Inuyasha beat her to it. He bent down and lapped the oozing blood away. Despite the situation, Kagome's cheeks flared. In-between licks, the hanyou whispered, almost to himself, "Damn bastard…probably nicked you with that knife he was holding…If only I was more-"

"Inuyasha?" The young miko feebly cut him off. "You might want to tie up those 'bastards' before they wake up…okay?" She gave a tiny giggle when using his word but then immediately sobered.

Inuyasha backed away while nodding again and seriously said, "Don't get yourself hurt even more while I'm gone, wench."

Kagome gave him an affirmative, walked to their phone, and dialed 911. It rang once, "Emergency, yes?" a woman said from the other line and spoke quickly.

"Yes…um…my house has just been robbed by two burglars, but I managed to knock both out and tie them up. I don't know if I'll be able to handle them by myself again when they wake up because they have knifes and maybe other weapons too." Kagome was unsure whether to mention Inuyasha, but since know one knew of half-demons in her time, she thought it best not to.

"Alright, miss, someone will be over right away…hold on…address?"

"Higurashi Shrine. The Higurashi Shrine."

"Yes, a police car will be there shortly miss…are you Mrs. Higurashi?"

"No, I'm her daughter."

"Oh alright. Stay safe, Miss Higurashi."

"Thank you." Kagome sighed as she set the phone back into its cradle. Suddenly, a thought popped into her head, _"Where's Mama and Souta and Gramps?"_ She rushed to the window and saw a white van parked by the shrine steps. Then she whirled back around to find a note on the kitchen table. _"How did I miss this? Oh, right. Inuyasha brought me in last night."_ Picking it up she read:

_Kagome,_

_Grandpa had an accident. I took Souta with me to the hospital and we'll be back as soon as we can. If not by tomorrow, I'll call. Or I'll call if something happens. My cell is running low, but if you need to I'll have it on so you can call me. Stay safe, honey. _

_We love you,_

_Mama_

That was it. Kagome collapsed in a chair and began to sob. _"First burglars then Gramps? An accident?! What happened?!?"_ She soon found herself being once again enveloped by two strong arms. _"Inuyasha…he's been acting so nice lately."_ The miko curled into the warmth of his haori as her sobs subsided.

"I got them tied up…Kagome? Why are you crying?" She felt him rumble.

The young woman seized the red cloth and cried, "Gramps had an accident! He's at the hospital!"

"Well, we'll go and visit him…"

"But we can't, Inuyasha. I have to stay here for when the police come." He set her down. "And you can't stay with me." His hands swiftly held her waist. "Inuyasha, no matter how much I want you to stay, you can't because the people here don't know about hanyous. So just go up stairs and I'll deal with it, okay?"

"Kagome…"

"Okay?"

He sighed, "Keh." The young miko watched as he reluctantly walked up to her room. Right as Inuyasha disappeared, she heard knocks at the door. Stepping around the two bound men that seemed to be coming to, Kagome hurried to the door and opened it. Three men in uniform walked briskly inside and picked up the burglars once they caught site of them. Another policeman stood to the side and watched as they took the burglars outside. He began to question the young woman, "Are you injured in any way, Miss Higurashi?"

"N-no. I'm fine."

The policeman scribbled something down on his pad of paper that seemed to have come from one of his many pockets on his tool belt. "Your house is…obviously damaged. Insurance will pay for that unless you want these men to pay. Do you?"

"Um…which will cause the least trouble to do?"

"Hm. Depends on the insurance company and the wealth of the criminals, miss."

"I'll just have the insurance do it then." Kagome bit her lip.

"Well, I must say you did a wonderful job at catching these two…however you did it, and I will want to ask you more questions about that if you don't mind…" He paused to see Kagome nod. "But I would also like to continue this at a more reasonable hour seeing it is…" He looked at his watch. "Three o'clock in the morning."

"Ye-"

Abruptly, a voice screamed from outside, "I swear! There was a demon with that woman! He had silver hair and-"

_**Whack!**_

One of the men holding the criminals punched him on the back of the head, knocking him out. Shrugging, the policeman picked him up and threw him into the back of the car.

The policeman that was questioning Kagome turned back to her with furrowed brows, "You know anything about this, Miss Higurashi?"

"Uh…Well…" Kagome hesitated. _"What am I supposed to say? Think quick, girl!"_ Biting her lip she spoke again, attempting to look sympathetic, "Those poor men have been mumbling about some demon ever since I knocked them out. Frankly, I have no idea." She shook her head sadly. "They must be messed up after I did that. You're not going to put me in jail too are you, sir?"

The man chuckled, "Of course not! You did what you had to." If it was any other situation, Kagome might have laughed with him, but she wanted to keep her character.

"Thank you, sir. Well…I guess you'll call in the morning?"

"Yes, how about ten?" He was scribbling again.

The girl nodded, "Ten sounds fine."

"Then," he began to walk out the door, "I'll talk to you at ten!" The policeman waved.

Kagome shut the door with a choked giggle.

" 'Those poor men have been mumbling about some demon ever since I knocked them out?'" The young miko heard Inuyasha call in imitation of her own voice as she turned to see he striding down the stairs with a smirk. Her gaze shifted to his ears.

They twitched.

Kagome was instantly on the floor with laughter.

-----

Meh…don't worry! It's not the end! I just decided to end on a happier note than last time.

What happened to Gramps?!?!?!?!?!?!?

_T_h_e_ Susp_ense_:3

KYAA!!! INU SAID 'KEH'!!!!!!!!!! XD

Please review!

-KikyouHater-


	3. What is Comfort

**I Have recently combined the first two chapters!!!**

WARNING this is a bit confusing chapter (emotion wise). If you feel really confused, please try to read it again. It might help. But if you reeeaallly can't get it for the life of you, email me.

Sorry it took me so long, guys. 3

**Disclaimer- **I don't own Inuyasha…I don't even own this computer…I don't even own my clothes! I don't even frikkin own my FACE! Okay, so, I own my face. What's it to you?

Chapter 4:

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Clawed hands wrapped themselves around a taut abdomen. "Stop laughing and maybe I'll be able to carry you upstairs." The giggles did not cease as the miko clung to her hanyou so she wouldn't fall. Her weak grip on his shoulders slipped as another bout of laughter erupted from her lips. She grabbed Inuyasha's forelocks accidentally, "Ow, bitch!" He cringed and bent down, setting Kagome safely on the top stair while trying to untangle her fingers from his silver tresses. _"She's in a pretty good mood for having a knife to her throat, burglars in her house, and her grandfather in an accident all in one night. There."_ When he finally got her fingers untangled, the young woman's eyes widened as she burst into tears. _"So much for that, damn it."_ Inuyasha sighed and knelt down in front of the miko, "Kagome?"

Said girl began to ramble, "Why am I happy? I should be worried about Gramps and worried about if we'll be able to pay off these damages! But no! I was sitting here laughing my head off without a care in the world for another person!" Kagome cried, "I'm selfish!" Her words were overcome by sobs and she wailed some more random insults to herself.

The hanyou's breath stopped short at the sight of Kagome bawling before him. It hurt him to see her cry and not being able to do anything about it. Inuyasha was always so used to just killing anything that bothered her, but this thing he couldn't kill. He laid his ears back against his skull. What was he supposed to do if the miko's emotions were tearing her apart, in turn ripping his heart to shreds? "Kagome." The hanyou tried to pick her up again but she began to struggle.

"Stop! Inuyasha!" She wailed, "Stop!" He stood two steps below the young woman and dejectedly looked at her. _"I should be worrying. Inuyasha, you don't deserve to put up with me and my problems."_ Tears streamed down her cheeks, "I'm sorry." Kagome whispered, sniffing. _"When did I become so rotten? When did I become so moody? I bet he's pissed at me. I bet Kikyou would never cry like this. I bet she would have never let any of this happen in the first place."_ The girl looked past Inuyasha to her wrecked living room down the stairs then met his eyes. Kagome gasped at what she saw; pain and an emotion she couldn't describe…sympathy?

The corner of his mouth turned upward but the miko missed it because she let her head droop, staring at the floor. "Don't worry 'bout it, wench." He reached for her waist once more, but she stood up by herself before he could get to her.

"_He shouldn't want to get near me. For all I know, I could break out into tears again and seem even more like a weak…Ah! When did I become such a pessimist?!" _Kagome preformed a perfect 'Oh, no!' pose with her back facing Inuyasha.

Inuyasha was on a totally different track… _"What did I do? Doesn't she know I hate it when she cries?"_

"_Why should she? All you do when you see her tears is yell at her to stop or stare dumbly and not do anything."_ The Miroku side of his brain replied.

"_That ain't true and you know it!"_ The Inuyasha side countered.

"_Prove me wrong."_

Inuyasha produced an inaudible growl and glanced at Kagome in front of him. She was speaking, "…cause I'm really tired, okay? Inuyasha?" The young woman turned with red-rimmed eyes.

"Come on, wench." He growled, swiftly picked her up, and headed to her room. Kicking open Kagome's door, the hanyou strode in and promptly laid her down on the bed. When made sure she had her covers tucked securely around her, he then sat down on the floor, hugging his Tetsusaiga and closing his eyes.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered.

"Go to sleep, Kagome." He whispered back without opening his eyes.

She blushed, it was rare that the hanyou actually spoke her name, and ignored his order. "I really am sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for, wench. Now, go to **sleep**." He was getting annoyed. She really needed to sleep. It would be a long day tom- I mean, today.

"But In-" The hanyou rapidly spun around and with his nose not an inch away from hers, he pierced her soft brown eyes with his liquid golden ones.

"You're tired. You ain't right in the head, now. **Go to sleep and stop apologizing! You didn't do anything!**" He lifted his hand and with one finger (minding his claws), he pressed it against her forehead and pushed her back on to her comforter.

Kagome was confused. _"But I yelled at you! You should be furious with me. Why the change of heart? Maybe he just doesn't want his little shard detector to get sick."_ If the miko's mood were a physical being, you would see it sag with a big frown on its face. "Good night, Inuyasha." She meekly spoke from under her sheets, flipping over to not face the hanyou.

"'Night." Was the gruff reply.

-----

Bright and warm sunlight cheerfully shone through the window of a second story bedroom. A bluebird flew down from its perch on a tree and began to sing a beautiful melody on the windowsill. The morning was sure wonderf-

"Ah! Would you just **shut UP?!**" Fluffy and pink, a pillow was thrown toward the poor bird, but it disappointed the pitcher when the sleeping utensil smacked against the glass rather loudly.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha sprung into the room with his sword drawn. "What? What happened? Are you hurt?" Jumping in front of the discontented girl, he sniffed her.

"Yeah, Inuyasha, I'm fine." Ignoring the fact that he was in her personal bubble, Kagome glared at the closed window like it had offended her. Sighing, she pulled her attention back to Inuyasha and asked, "You hungry? I can make some ramen."

Seeing the hanyou's eager nod, she hopped off the bed and went down the stairs with him following close behind, to make sure she didn't hurt herself on the way down.

In the middle of preparing the ninja noodles, Kagome happened to glance at the clock. It blinked:

**9:56.**

"INUYASHA! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!" She screeched.

"Wake you up? Wench, I didn't wake you up, it was that bird!"

"Well, should I be screaming at that bird then?! You knew that at ten the police officer would call me!" The unfortunate girl looked as if she was about to rip her hair out. "What if I accidentally mention you? What if those men convinced the police that there was a demon with me? What if they take you away from me for some awful examination?! What if-"

Gasping as she was suddenly jerked into Inuyasha's arms, the miko produced a dry sob. "It won't happen. They won't ever be able to take me away from you." The hanyou whispered.

"_That might be the sweetest thing he's ever said to me."_ Kagome slowly returned his embrace and he tightened his grip on her waist. "Thank you." Unexpectedly, the shrill ring of the telephone sliced their tender moment causing the miko and hanyou to jump away from each other, blushing. "Hold on, that's probably him." Easily jumping over the couch, Kagome marveled at how graceful she had become because of the Feudal Era as she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Yes, is this Ms. Higurashi?" A familiar low voice responded.

"Yes. This…this is she." The woman began to grow more nervous by the second.

"Good morning. Shall we continue our conversation, Miss?"

"_This is it." _She gulped. "Of course."

"Right. I have spoken to the criminals just this morning and they still claim to have seen a demon with you. I know this is quite unlikely, but it is my job to confirm this."

"Okay." The young miko took a deep breath.

"Was exactly happened last night? Or to be more specific, early this morning?"

"Well, I was sleeping in my room and that's when I heard some glass break. I was scared…" Suppressing another gasp, Kagome peered down at the arms enveloping her; one crossed over her chest and the other resting on her opposite hip. "I-I went down stairs…" The girl trailed off again as she felt Inuyasha pull her down onto the couch with him and her in his lap. The hanyou's chin rested on her head.

"Go on." The police officer urged from the other line.

"Sorry…I went down stairs and when I got to the kitchen I saw one burglar and hit him on the head with a pot. He was facing away from me of course." Kagome continued, feeling safer than ever now that her protector was holding her. "I guess the other burglar heard the bang of the pot and came rushing in. But before he could do anything I hit him too. Then I called 911." She immediately became aware of Inuyasha's constricting hold on her and sensed that he was upset about her skipping over the part where she got hurt from the knife. But how was she supposed to explain that without putting him into the story?

"I see. I believe when you knocked them out you caused a concussion. That can also cause hallucinations. But no worries, you won't be charged for it." Kagome could here the smile in his voice.

"Thank you, sir."

"Well, I believe that is all I need from you, Ms. Higurashi. Though, when you can, I would like to speak with your mother as soon as possible, okay?"

"M'kay." Her shoulders sagged at the mention of her mother. _"Gramps…"_

"Good day, Ms. Higurashi." The police officer chirped.

"Good day." Kagome mumbled and stretched to place the phone back in its cradle without leaving Inuyasha's comfort.

"Kagome?" There was a hint of concern in his voice.

The girl leaned back into him and curled toward his warmth. "I'm worried." Inuyasha braced himself; ready to fend off anything that was troubling the woman in his arms. "I need to check on Mama and Grandpa."

-----

GAW. This was such a horrible chapter! I hate it.

There was a little fluff. But…MORE TO COME!! (WEWT! 7 pages!!)

:O

-KikyouHater-

_Tell me your thoughts…and please review!_


	4. What is Family

**Disclaimer- **LALALA!!! WHEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeee…I not be ownin'.

**WARNING:** Emotional stress chapter. 

-----

Inuyasha promptly set Kagome down on her carpeted floor. "Then let's go."

The miko averted her eyes and shook her head. "I should probably call my mom first."

Raising an eyebrow, the hanyou carefully picked up the phone and pushed it in the girl's hands. "Alright, then call her." Sighing, Kagome began dialing but stopped when Inuyasha's hands laid themselves on top of hers for a moment. He huffed, "What's wrong?"

Plopping on to the cushions of the couch, the young miko looked up at the silver-haired man before her. His eyes seemed to be searching her with their golden depths, eyebrows slightly furrowed. The hanyou's thin lips bore a fang that hung almost carelessly over the bottom lip and gave him an overwhelming appearance of a dog demon (especially with those ears). Squared shoulders framed his body that blocked everything when he threw himself in front of her, in harms way. And his clawed hands tore at demons, which anyone would fear, except him. But those hands could also embrace, and she wished he would do just that right now. Examining the hanyou, Kagome thought, _"He's like a god. Why does he even bother with me? He could be back in the Feudal Era with Kikyou but he stays…"_

"Kagome?" Afraid to touch her, lest she began to cry again, Inuyasha settled for sitting down next to her, examining the miko as well. His eyes roved over her figure, absorbing the fact that she was well built, happily. Her curves were in all the right places, silky skin that seemed to radiate softness, tightly stretched over her well-formed muscles that she had acquired during her stay with him…and her eyes deliciously cinnamon colored. Her raven black locks fell delicately down her back curled around her face. Realizing she had spoken to him, Inuyasha snapped out of his thoughts.

"…I feel guilty because I spend almost all of my time in your era when I could be helping out my own family. I know I need to save the future and find those shards, but I wasn't there when Gramps had his accident so I couldn't help and comfort them! I'm always away. I'm always away, Inuyasha!" Suddenly, the poor hanyou felt that this was more than just about the miko's grandfather. "Every time I come home, I see Souta and how much he's grown! He's living a life without an older sister! What about my mom? Do I even know her anymore? Gramps?" She clutched the phone like a lifeline, "He's going to die and I won't be there because I'm wasting my time on the other side of some well, 500 years in the past!! I can't even get a good education because I'm in the Feudal Era more than half of the school year!" Panting, Kagome clenched her teeth together and fought off the tears. "I'm sorry I just blew up at you, Inuyasha, but there are only so many disasters I can handle." She produced a dry sob. "And I didn't mean that being in the Feudal Era is a waste of my time…it just kind of…all came out, ya know?" The miko breathed.

"Yeah." Inuyasha let the hairs on the back of his neck lower before moving to hold the girl close. That speech she just made really scared him. He thought that she was going to up and kick him out so she could go on and live a life without him. But, no. That's not his miko. "Call your mother, Kagome." The hanyou cooed while placing her in his lap once again.

-----

Inuyasha's haori flapped in the afternoon wind. After Kagome had talked to her mother on the loud piece of plastic, the hanyou didn't waste any time and took the miko on his back, speeding off at a godly pace to the hospital with the woman on his back giving directions.

"Alright, wench?!" The man yelled as he leaped across a quite large gap in the buildings and skidded to a stop on the roof of the hospital.

Shaking, Kagome slid off him and nodded. What her mother had told her on the phone was scaring her to the bone…

"_Kagome! Is that you?" She could hear her mother's voice from the other line. It didn't sound too good._

_Kagome gripped the phone. "Yes, Mama. It's me. What happened?"_

"_Kagome, dear, I love you, now don't panic, but Gramps…Gramps had a stroke. He-he prob…probably won't…" At this point the young miko had a good idea of what her mother was going to say and she listened in shock as the woman on the phone broke down crying._

"_Mama?" Kagome sobbed, her voice wavering. She could feel a lump form in her throat as she spoke. "Y-you don't mean that…do you?" The young woman wailed, not taking notice of the hanyou behind her, who was repeating her name over and over, trying to get her to calm down._

"_Kagome…" Inuyasha's voice cracked as he desperately tried to soothe her and shift the girl into a better position. The miko ended up curled toward his stomach with the hanyou's arms enveloping her as she pressed the phone against her ear and tear-streaked face, possibly making her mother somehow closer. Inuyasha benevolently nuzzled his nose against her cheek that wasn't occupied by the loud plastic machine and formed a comforting growl in the back of his throat. _"Mate…sad…" _his demon side whined._

At that point, her mother's cell died and Kagome just sat in Inuyasha's arms clasping the house phone for the longest time. Finally, the hanyou convinced the woman to ride on his back to the hospital.

"I'll be okay." The miko replied after a long moment of silence. They made it to the main office and the two approached the hospital desk. An old gray haired woman was tapping away at a computer in front of her, oblivious to the couple at the counter.

A young doctor walked up to the desk and shoved a file in her face and ordered, "Higurashi file. Stroke. Send this to the next nurse on shift, it's his medication." She nodded nonchalantly.

Kagome suddenly spoke up, "Gramps? Is he going to be okay?" The miko advanced toward the doctor with a worry-riddled face.

"You know Higurashi, lady?" (AN- Eh, sorry I don't know Kagome's grandfather's first name -.-;;; Deal wit it.) The young doctor gave her an 'up and down' giving a small smirk at her form. Behind Kagome, Inuyasha (with his hat on, don't worry) growled and placed a hand on her hip, earning odd looks from both the lady at the desk and the doctor. The miko did not notice this transition, or if she did she didn't care, but she did nod and eagerly plead the man in the white coat to let her see her grandfather. The young doctor dumbly gave an affirmative with his room number and stared after the two as they rushed down the hospital corridors. The old lady behind the desk had a similar expression.

"Did you see that?" The man whispered to the old woman, leaning on the counter.

Her mouth curved into a snarl while the rest of her face took on a surprised appearance, "If I say no," The lady whispered back, "will it go away?"

-----

"Room 221…room 221…" Kagome dragged the unfortunate hanyou past rooms filled with sick men and women, overpowering his senses with the scent of illness. Inuyasha covered his offended nose and dealt with it as the worried, young miko pulled him to room 221.

Finally, they reached the door with 221 printed neatly above it and Kagome practically kicked it open, flinging herself into her mother's arms. "MAMA!" Inuyasha entered and saw Souta sitting in a chair facing the sick bed with red-rimmed eyes. His hair was unruly and dirty and he sniffed pathetically not caring to say hello to the two visitors. His mother on the other hand, was ecstatic that they were there but Inuyasha could sense that she was on her last nerves. The hanyou gave her a ten-foot radius. That is, until she glomped him leaving her daughter to rush to her grandfather, who was lying, dazed in his white bed. His face, old and wrinkled was uncharacteristically ashen and pasty. After Inuyasha was released from the woman's hold, he warily stepped toward Kagome's grandfather.

The young woman was whispering to her grandpa and crying silently with tears slipping down her cheeks. But she smiled like he wasn't on his deathbed and held his hand like they were walking through a beautiful meadow of flowers instead of sitting there when he couldn't walk. The old man's cloudy eyes smiled when his mouth couldn't and shifted to the hanyou beside his granddaughter. Kagome saw his gaze leave her and stepped back to let Inuyasha see him.

Her demon friend stepped up to the bed shyly and greeted him, "Hey, old man." Inuyasha gave a small smile and sadly watched as old Higurashi's mouth shook as he tried to smile himself.

"Gramps! Don't push yourself." Kagome desperately warned. The young miko immediately stole the hanyou's hand and pressed it close to her chest as she leaned into him. Inuyasha gladly comforted the young girl and his face fell as he saw the old man close his eyes and breathed his last.

"FATHER!" Kagome's mother screamed and then began to weep from the other side of the hospital bed, seizing her father-in-law's weathered hand.

The miko stared at her dead grandfather and unexpectedly collapsed, bawling. Inuyasha held the poor girl up and glanced at Souta. He had his face in his hands and his shoulders were trembling. Suddenly, a nurse came rushing in and covered Mr. Higurashi up, announcing the time of his death to the assistant nurse who wrote it down. "Sir? Sir?" The nurse asked the hanyou, who was in some kind of trance. "Are you the man of this family?" He blinked at her and mutely shook his head. "Oh. Then if you are not family, I will have to ask you to leave." Inuyasha stubbornly stood his ground and watched as the same nurse walked off to give the papers she was going to give to him, to Kagome's mother. Noticing that he was still there, the woman in the white coat tried to shoo him off again, "Sir, I'm afraid you will have to leave if you are not family."

And as quick as lighting Kagome, who was still in his arms, countered, almost yelling at the unfortunate nurse, "He _is_ part of the family! Leave him alone!" Then she nestled her head back into the folds of his haori.

The nurse then blinked a couple of times and nodded, striding away.

Inuyasha just stood there watching, blushing, and smiling sadly as Kagome's mother filled out papers, Souta cried in his chair, the miko sobbed in his arms, and nurses bustled about, cleaning up old man Higurashi. And then, only then, did the hanyou's eyes rest on the peaceful face of the old man and he let his guard down for the woman in his embrace…again.

A lone tear made it's way down his cheek.

-----

I like how this one ended. I didn't want to rush it so…_TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS!!!!_

…

And review. Thank you. –bows- OMIGAW!! INUYASHA THOUGHT "MATE"!!! -screams- Oh, and sorry for the long wait for an update. XP AHHH!!! SCHOOL! -.-;;;

-KikyouHater-


	5. What is Want

**Disclaimer-**NUUUU!!!!! TT I don't own Inuyasha…-sobs-

**SPECIAL THANKS**: This is a special thank you (no shit.) to every one who urged me to write more. Especially to a certain someone who told me to _not_ get any rest until I wrote another chapter. –Coughs- Thank you. X3

-----

A silver haired man sat slumped in a couch around midnight. His head was relaxed with his chin resting on a thin mane of coal dark tresses. The even breath puffing out of the man's mouth rustled the ebony bangs of the young woman in his lap, whose forehead was pressed against the man's neck and slightly apart lips barely brushing his collar bone. Her closed eyes had a trace of puffiness in them and cheeks flushed red, a sure sign that the woman had been crying. Suddenly, a small whisper broke the tender, sleeping silence the couple bore together, and it came from a young boy who had appeared before them.

"Inuyasha?" Souta breathed. "Inuyash-"

The hanyou's eyes snapped open, the golden orbs never leaving the kid. "What is it Souta?" He almost fondly replied. Inuyasha watched as said boy sat next to him, causing the couch to creak. They both cringed. "Your sister is finally sleeping. Try not to wake her up, okay?" The older boy informed Souta.

The young boy nodded. He too had puffy eyes and tear tracks were still apparent on his soft face. "I-I couldn't sleep."

Smirking kindly, Inuyasha told him, "I guess it runs in the family then. It took me at least three hours to get your sister asleep."

Souta forced a smile and as quickly as it came, it fell from his face shattering on the floor below in the form of tears. "She's probably taking it harder than all of us, Inuyasha."

The hanyou's ears twitched with curiosity and mouth twisted into a frown, "Why?" He drew the young miko closer subconsciously. She, successively, nuzzled her nose against the juncture of his jaw and neck.

Souta noticed this and allowed himself to be happy for his sister and the hanyou in front of him for a moment. Drawing himself back to the conversation, Souta whispered, "Because, she probably feels all guilty that she's not here all of the time. And now that Gramps is…passed away…Kagome might feel that it's her time to take up his job around the shrine and in the family. Mama isn't getting any younger and I'm not exactly old enough to deal with everything, so she believes that she needs to do what we can't." The young boy's lip trembled as he spoke. "Perhaps you don't know this, Inuyasha, but we all consider you family, Kagome the most, and I just want to know if…you'll help us out. Just until we get ourselves…straight." Souta peered up from under his bangs at the older boy with pleading eyes.

Inuyasha smiled gently and ruffled the boy's hair. "And what do you think I was going to do, runt? Leave your poor sister here without me? As if." The hanyou didn't have to search the young boy's face to see it light up with hope. "Of course I'll help you."

"Thanks, Inuyasha!" Souta whisper-shouted.

"Keh! Not like there's anything better to do. With your sis all depressed like this, I doubt we would get anything done back in my era." Inuyasha's pride forced him to cover up that little show of compassion before, but Souta saw right through his mask just like his sister.

"Thanks again." The boy smiled. Then, turning, he silently ran up the stairs to his room.

After Kagome's brother had left, the silver haired man glanced down at the young miko. Inuyasha smiled again, letting a pointed canine hang lopsided above his bottom lip. He lightly brushed a stray curl away from her mouth as his grin faded into his golden spheres where it twinkled and stayed.

-----

In the morning, Kagome's mother found her daughter sprawled across her hanyou, who was clutching the miko's waist. Blinking, the elderly woman decided to leave them there instead of waking the couple. So she went to go make breakfast. (AN- Ha, let sleeping dogs lie. XD Except Kagome's not a dog. Oh, that was bad. Sorry!)

The succulent smell of bacon and eggs reached a nose that was conveniently attached to the hungry stomach of a teenage girl. "Mmmm…" Kagome groaned. Rubbing her eyes, the young woman sat up…or tried to. "Mmmyasha. Leggo." She slurred to the possessive dog demon.

"Hm?" Immediately, the half demon was awake. "Gah!" He blushed profusely at their position.

"Wha-?" Kagome caught the waking disease. "AH!!! Let go of me!!" The pitiable girl was straddling Inuyasha's hips and could tell that he was hardening fast. Jumping off of the hanyou-in-heat, Kagome's cheeks ignited. "S-s-sorry!!" The girl wouldn't meet his eyes.

Panting, Inuyasha blushed uncharacteristically more than usual and tried to suppress the urge to cover his stiff appendage. _"Damn. She felt so good."_ He took a deep breath to calm himself and then it hit him. _"Ramen."_ All thoughts of the blushing woman in front of the hanyou were lost as the delicious scent drowned his nose.

In heaven, Inuyasha barely heard Kagome's mom call them for breakfast. He just walked in the kitchen and sat down to the Styrofoam cup and began slurping.

Kagome plopped down across the table from him with a twitching eye. _"Men…"_

"Good morning, honey." A cheerful soprano sung above the miko's head as she set down a bountiful plate with bacon and eggs.

"Wow. Thanks, Mama!" Kagome munched on her crispy bacon and thought, _"Dang, Mom's going all out with the protein. Guess she's still reading those magazines that told her protein's good for the body during depression like she did when Dad died." _The young woman stopped chewing for a moment and stared down at her plate. _"Mama said that she'd deal with the burglary and such but…I need to help out here more now that Gramps…"_ Determined to not cry anymore, Kagome swallowed furiously and almost choked. Gasping, the girl stood and ran up to her room while yelling back to her mom, "I'll be back down later! Thanks Mom!"

Slamming the door to her room the miko clenched her fists and ground her teeth, trying, desperately to drive those salty tears away from her eyes. Kagome's eyes screwed shut and she felt that unfriendly lump form in her throat again. Gagging from lack of breath, the young woman let out a strangled sob. _"Stop crying, girl! Gramps is dead and gone and crying won't help or bring him back!" _She whimpered louder than she anticipated, still pushing the tears away. Becoming angry with herself, Kagome thought heatedly, _"Kikyou would _never_ cry!"_

Finally realizing that she had locked the door accidentally and that there was a worried, not to mention fuming, hanyou on the other side of it, the miko weakly unlocked it and fell on to her bed. Or so she thought.

Inuyasha was in her room so fast that he caught her before she could even start falling and smashed her against his firm chest bellowing, "Shit! Don't scare me like that! It sounded like you were getting killed!"

With wide eyes, Kagome yelled back, "I won't cry! I can't! I won't!!" She wailed and allowed her eyes to water up but nothing more. "Inuyashaaa…" Dryly coughing, the miko sniffed and closed her eyes, dropping her head on the hanyou's shoulder.

"Shh…Kagome." The half demon hushed. He gulped, not knowing to handle the emotionally unstable young woman.

"I'm weak…" When the words left the miko's mouth, tears poured from her liquid cinnamon eyes. "Nothing like Kikyou." She whispered.

Not even realizing that she had spoken that out loud Kagome was surprised when Inuyasha pulled her away and held her at arms' length. "What?!"

"_Oops. Oh, well. No point in backing out now."_ So, the young woman spoke her mind. "Nothing like Kikyou." Inuyasha winced. "I don't even know why you stay with me anymore. Why do you even struggle to keep me alive, Inuyasha? Kikyou could do my job! Heck, she could do it better than me!"

"Kagome," Inuyasha warned.

"No, I'm weak. Don't try to tell me differently. I'm just a burden! I know it's true!"

"Stop," the hanyou was breathing harder now.

"So why don't you go to her?!" Kagome spat.

"Kagome! Stop!!"

"Why don't you kill me so she can get all of her soul back and live-"

"DAMN IT! SHUT THE FUCK UP, KAGOME!!" Both were trembling and Inuyasha had long since let go of her arms. Mrs. Higurashi, who was listening secretly with Souta just outside the partly open door, hurried to cover her son's ears and save him from the offending words. But the boy heard them anyway and a surprised expression overcame his features. He _really_ wanted to see what was going on now, instead of just listening.

"You are not-" The hanyou began but was interrupted.

"Stop trying to-" Kagome tried.

"Damn, stubborn bitch." Inuyasha looked up at her from under his bangs and growled. Gripping her hips, the silver haired man took the woman, flung her over his shoulder, and jumped out her window not even noticing that it had started to rain.

"_This is the second time Inuyasha has carried me off. But I know he's lying! Why does he do this to me?"_ Kagome's dark locks soon became plastered to her neck and face but she ignored that fact and beat a fist on the hanyou's back, annoyed. "Put me down, Inuyasha!"

"No," was his quick reply. It was unusually calm but she could tell he was mad. Really mad. Staying with a man for that many years does that to you.

After about ten minutes he set the bitter, young woman down in the tall grasses of the park they were in not but two days ago. The cool rain lightly pattered all around them creating a thick mud under the grass so it squished when you stepped on it. The rain also hit their heads and Inuyasha finally grasped the fact that he left his hat back at the house. Shrugging inwardly, he flicked his ears, ridding any water off.

Seeing Inuyasha clad in his normal red haori, which clung to his shoulders, his hair, wet and arousing, his ears twitching, flinging water away, and his eyes molten gold, was more or less too much for Kagome to cope with. At the notion, which she had just called the dog demon arousing, the miko blushed, earning an odd look from her hanyou.

Funny thing was, Inuyasha was thinking the exact same thing about her. Coming back to reality, the half demon whispered, "The reason I protect you and want…you with me…" He stopped short to examine her expression. It was urging him to go on. "Is because…I-I need you." Inuyasha averted his eyes. "You aren't worthless Kagome. Don't _ever_ think that again. I…we _need_ you on the other side of the well."

Meeting her glowing brown orbs again, the hanyou was almost surprised when she tossed herself into his embrace. Almost.

"Thank you, Inuyasha."

-----

Heehee!! I'm soooooo evil X3 –glee-

So _HA!_ He didn't say, "I love you Kagome." You really thought I would do that this soon??? Pffft. _That_ doesn't come until later! WAY more fluff coming up! Review and LOOK FORWARD TO IT!!!

**I'm going to be gone this next weekend so after I take my AP test (Eeek!) on Wednesday, I might (MIGHT) fit in another chapter.**

**REVIEW!!**

-KikyouHater-


	6. What is Home

**Disclaimer:** Does anybody get tired of writing/reading these? GAH! OF COURSE I DON'T OWN INUYASHA! Do you really think I'm _that_ crazy? Oh hells.

WARNING- Moments of random laughter.

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Around a shadowed noon, we enter a small clearing. Frogs and other water-loving animals chirp and croak with the patter a lush downpour. A couple, not just any couple, a hanyou and a young woman stood embracing in this small, wet meadow with their silver and black locks elegantly, but sloppily plastered to their own necks and faces. The young girl, as we have come to learn, is called Kagome. She wore a bright grin with her arms flung around the hanyou Inuyasha's neck, feet never touching the ground because of his clutch on her waist. Inuyasha's expression was subtly different. A tiny smile gradually consumed his mouth as he closed his eyes, and it was the same for a blush and his cheeks.

"_It feels so good…having him hold me. I never want him to let go."_ The miko thought blissfully. But she knew that her mother would be worrying so she opened her logical mouth to break the warm moment. "Inuyasha?"

"Hm?" the man embracing her sighed.

Not knowing how to exactly go on she thought of the easiest comeback, "I'm wet."

Slowly, the young miko felt him shake beneath her. It was a comforting rumble but then burst forth in a full-blown laugh. Setting Kagome down, Inuyasha doubled over heaving a masculine guffaw. In turn, the girl began to giggle with him. It had been forever since she had seen the uptight, pride-never-letting-him-show-his-emotions hanyou out right laugh.

When their giggles subsided, Inuyasha peered at her from under his bangs with twinkling eyes, "No shit, you're wet." He kneeled to the ground, back facing her. "Come on, we'll get to your house faster this way."

"Alright." Kagome chuckled.

-----

The two entered the shrine house, chattering loudly, "I want a week!" Kagome berated the hanyou for not considering the fact that her grandfather just died like he wasn't there, "You think he had some compassion, but then he turns out to be an awful," directing these points out to the scoffing man in front of her, she continued while poking his chest, "selfish, uncaring, egocentric dog!"

Not taking any of it to heart, he countered, "But if I help your weak ass then you'll get done with stuff faster and it will only take about three days!"

Kagome exhaled nosily, "I'm staying a week." And with that she stalked up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door in Inuyasha's face as a sign that she didn't want him there, but of course, he didn't care.

Wrenching open the unfortunate door, the annoyed hanyou followed. "Kagome!"

Her eye ticked. _"Why is it the only time he uses my name is when he's really pissed at me?"_ She whirled around only to be startled at how close he was to her. "Eep!"

"Now listen here." Inuyasha pointed an accusing finger at her chest, "I told you I would help you. I'll be here if you need me. And with me helping, don't you think you'll get done faster?"

Kagome sighed, defeated, and fell to her bed, lying down. Groaning, she rubbed her eyes, "Yes, we'll get the basics done faster, but…"

"But?" The hanyou sat on the edge of her bed, waiting patiently.

"But recovery isn't something you can speed up." The miko blurted out.

The man sitting next to her muttered something she couldn't make out before he finally spoke, "I'm sorry, Kagome, but lamenting over what's dead won't help to bring them back or even make you feel better. They're gone." Inuyasha tried reasoning.

"I-I know…" She choked.

"_Damn, her tears."_ The hanyou winced at the smell of salt. "Kagome, stop." She sobbed in reply. "Kagome…" He leaned over her form and pried her fingers away from her eyes. Not wanting to look in his golden orbs that made her heart melt, the girl squeezed her brown spheres shut, but even though that kept his eyes out, it didn't keep her tears in. "Kagome, please stop." He suddenly felt alarmingly close as his thumb gently wiped her wet cheeks and his breath ran down her neck.

"I…" She rasped.

"Shh. I know." Inuyasha plucked the woman off her bed set her calmly into his lap with him sitting on the floor.

Unexpectedly, there was a knock at the door. "Kagome? Inuyasha?"

The sweet voice of her mother jolted the girl out of her trance, "Yes, Mama?"

The elder woman walked in but stopped abruptly when she saw her daughter in the arms of the supposedly uncompassionate hanyou. "Um…Oh yes. I was just wondering when you two were going back to the Feudal Era. I got most of your things packed, Kagome, so you could leave today if you-"

"_Today_?!" The teens said in unison.

"But, Mama, we were planning on leaving-" Kagome began.

"Today's good!" The hanyou cut her off.

Mrs. Higurashi clapped her hands, "Well, then that's settled! How about you two leave after dinner?"

"Sounds great! How about it, Kagome?" Inuyasha responded a little too cheerfully.

The girl with an expression of pure confusion, looked at her mother then to the man holding her, then her mother and then back. "Uh, Mom? Could I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, honey." The older woman walked out the door to wait.

As Kagome got up, she noticed that Inuyasha's hands never left her hips as he stood up with her. The miko knocked his hands off, "Stop holding me there! I'm not some kind of possession," she hissed, "and I'm going to talk to my mother alone! So stay here!" And with that she marched out of her room and coldly closed the door.

Outside the miko's room, Kagome began whispering, "Are you sure you're okay with this, mom? I mean, Gramps _just_ passed away and I think that I need to spend some more time here now that he's not around…"

"Kagome, dear, I know how much you love the Feudal Era. And I know how much Gramps meant to you. For a while now, I knew that he was going to die, we all knew. Except for maybe you. You're still young, Kagome and you're taking it the hardest." Her mother rested a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I know Gramps wouldn't want you to sulk over him most of your young years so going back to Inuyasha's time will help. I want you to have fun. I don't really need help here and if I do, then I can get Souta or our neighbors to help. Your brother grown and he's almost a teenager now."

"But, Mama, I don't want to…I don't want to miss more because of the Feudal Era…and I want to help. I want to be here." The miko whimpered.

"But don't you also want to be there? You love Inuyasha's time. I know it. He also wants you there. And even though I don't know them, I'm sure your other friends do too." Giving Kagome a smile only a mother could master, she changed the subject, "I heard that there was a fair coming up this next weekend? Am I right? You can come and check up here then, okay?"

The young woman supplied her mother with a content smile and sighed, talking in a normal voice now, "I'll come back, if I can manage to convince a certain, stubborn hanyou."

"Hey!" Came the disgruntled reply from inside Kagome's room.

The women laughed.

-----

During a very interesting game of rock-paper-scissors, Kagome's mother called the two down for dinner. The miko had just finished teaching the simple game to the half demon, but he would keep on asking (more like demanding) as to why you could only defeat your opponent with those "damn idiotic weapons". So, the pair ended up adding a few more "smart" weapons such as the Tetsusaiga (Inuyasha thought of that one), purification arrows (Kagome), the Tenseiga (Inuyasha, who said it could bring you back to life) and the Shikon Jewel (Kagome). After adding those new weapons they certainly had to have an awfully drawn out "debate" as to what defeated what. Obviously, the Shikon defeated all, but there was some disagreement as to where the Tetsusaiga and purification arrows were located in status. And all this argument over an effortless game of rock-paper-scissors was finished with a cleverly placed poke and a strong tackle that pinned a squealing girl to the floor.

"KAGOME! INUYASHA! DINNER!" The elder woman was getting ticked off at the duo by this point because all she had heard so far was a yelp, some giggles, and a loud thud with a squeal. "KAGOME!!! INUYASHA!!!" Mrs. Higurashi huffed.

"Coming, Mama!" Kagome yelled from up stairs. And soon enough, her mother heard the riotous steps of her laughing daughter and hanyou. The miko was being chased ruthlessly by the half demon and as to where they would end up, no one could know…

"Gotcha!"

Kagome shrieked.

The mother of the captured girl turned the corner, out of the kitchen, to find Inuyasha holding Kagome on the floor right before the table. "Alright, break it up!" Kagome's mom told them while laughing.

The hanyou gently helped the miko up but then blushed brightly at his latest show of exhilaration and kindness. Kagome ignored his embarrassment and was in the middle of thanking him when she screamed, "ODEN!" The excited girl was immediately beside her mother, who was holding the precious oden.

Once ever body sat down, Inuyasha wrinkled his nose at the distasteful oden Kagome was currently reaching for and let his eyes drift over the table until his eyes met a beautiful bowl full of ramen.

And you know what happens next.

-----

A young miko finished buttoning up her yellow bag and hefted it onto her shoulder. "Ready, Inuyasha?" (AN- "Ready Santa!" Oh hells, I'm sick, okay? Give a girl some laughs. Humor me.)

"Keh." The hanyou appeared in Kagome's doorway with his arms tucked in his sleeves, indifferently.

"Okay! Let's go!" The girl chirped. When they finally got into the well house Kagome asked, shifting the yellow book bag, "You know that we're coming back this weekend, right?"

"What?!" Inuyasha snarled as he snatched the heavy load off the miko's shoulders and placed it on his own.

"I just thought that you heard the conversation that Mom and I had…" She blushed remembering what her mother had said about Inuyasha wanting her to be in the Feudal Era with him…and she was right. _"But is it all just because of the shards?"_ She shook her head of that depressing thought and drew her attention back to the hanyou.

"Well, I did…but…that's no reason for you to come back! We would have barely found any shards! And if you haven't noticed, Naraku still has more shards than we do!"

"_Yep, I was right. All about the shards."_ Kagome's eye twitched again and she had a notion that an argument was about to start. But she had a different plan. Ignoring the irritated half demon, the young miko 'hmph'ed and jumped into the well.

"Bitch!"

-----

Shippo sighed. Miroku sighed. Sango sighed. Kilala mewed. Shippo sighed. Miroku sighed. Sango sighed. Kilala-

"MOTHER FUCKING-" Kilala's ears perked up.

"Sit!"

Shippo sat up from his position on the floor of Kaede's hut and grinned. "Kagome's home!" And thus, he scampered out the door.

Miroku looked over at Sango with a raised eyebrow and smile, "She's _'home'_?"

Sango chuckled and said, "He misses her too much. Come on, let's go see what Inuyasha did now." Sango, Miroku and Kilala then rushed out of the hut towards their main form of entertainment.

-----

Ahhh… I'm sick. –Coughs-

Hope you enjoyed this fucking chapter…uuhhhhhhgg… -Dies-

-Takes reviving pills-

WEWT! So much going on!! What will happen next?!?!? -Pulls out "What Will Happen Next?!?!?" bag-

-Digs- AH-HA! It's…panties? Oops -.-;;;

-Digs- AH-HA!! It's…KOUGA!!!!!!! OMIGOSHNOWAI?!?

Until next time! (_**REVIEW!!**_) –Coughs-

-KikyouHater-


	7. What is Endearment

**Disclaimer:** Ahem. I do not own. Thank you.

**Author's Note—**Due to some…eh…very convincing reviews, I shall update. 

-----

"Wench, get back here!" A certain dog demon growled at a seemingly unfazed girl. She kept on walking. The hanyou grabbed her by the arm. "MOTHER FUCKING-"

She whirled around to face him and cocked an eyebrow. "Sit!"

Uninterestingly enough, Inuyasha let go of her right before he fell so she wouldn't be dragged down with him. "Mmiph!" He mumbled to the ground.

Kagome took a step back as he began to spit out dirt. "I really don't think the ground would reply to that even if it could talk, Inuyasha." The miko tapped a finger to her chin and closed her eyes shaking her head sadly.

When the half demon rid himself of all the dirt in his mouth he retorted, "Now listen here, bitch-"

"KAGOME!!!" Inuyasha was cut off by a little fox demon that came hurtling towards the two. "YOU'RE HOME!!!"

Growling, the silver haired demon stood and when the words the kit had said registered, he glanced at the young miko nervously. "Shippo? I'm what?" Kagome asked tenderly to the small demon now in her arms.

Looking up with bright eyes Shippo repeated, "You're home, Kagome!"

The sweet emotion of welcome and guilt for not being in her own time more flooded the young woman's system and she collapsed, kneeling on the ground, all the while clutching the kit. "Oh, Shippo."

Realizing what he had blurted without thinking, the young fox demon tried to redeem himself, "Well, seeing as you're here a lot and me, and every body, even Inuyasha, think of you as family," The half demon blushed, "I guess you have two homes now, huh?"

Kagome smiled lightly at Shippo and kissed him on the nose, nodding. With that little display from the miko, Inuyasha felt a pang of jealousy for the runt. _"Ah! I mean, why would I even want her to kiss me? I don't want her to kiss me…do I?"_ The half demon imagined her lips on his for a moment and ended up finding his answer while blushing even more. Coming back, the silver haired demon noted that the rest of the gang had entered the Bone Eater's Well clearing.

"To bad the show's over…" The monk whispered to Sango.

She snorted and nodded, then she went to go help Kagome up and gather her monstrous yellow pack, which Inuyasha had dropped the second he was sat.

Meanwhile, Shippo was telling the miko how he had been practicing his scents, "See, Kagome? If I close my eyes, I can find you without having to listen!" He bumped into her leg and fell down, opening his eyes. "Hey, Inuyasha!" Shippo called with his brows furrowed.

The half demon was leaning indifferently against a tree, watching as the kit smashed into Kagome's leg, "What, runt?"

Standing up, Shippo sniffed at something in the opposite direction of everyone, "What's…(sniff) that smell?"

Curious, Inuyasha took a whiff. _"Damn…"_ His eyes widened and he drew his Tetsusaiga, positioning himself in front of Kagome.

"Inu-Inuyasha?" The miko was now confused at what to feel. Usually, it was a big threat, but sometimes the half demon could over use his "protecting mode".

Suddenly, a huge whirlwind came bursting from the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. _"Once again, Inuyasha is protecting me from nothing."_ Kagome then eep-ed when she felt an arm wrap around her hips and a gust of wind whip her hair from her face. "Um…hello, Kouga."

The wolf demon captured her hand in his own, "My darling, Kagome."

"LET GO OF HER YA MANGY WOLF!!" The miko looked over to Inuyasha, who was being held away from her by a foot to the head, as she very discreetly tried to twist he waist out of Kouga's hands. Immediately, she stopped when the wolf put a hand to her face. Kagome blushed and laughed nervously.

Kouga just stared at her, concerned, "Kagome, you skin is laden with the scent of your tears! Wha-oof!" Inuyasha had somehow gotten out of his childish predicament and threw the "mangy wolf" a few yards away. Grasping his sword, the hanyou gruffly ordered Kagome to stay behind him. "Step away from _my_ woman, Inu-trasha!" Kouga bellowed as he stood up, unhurt.

"Ha! Yeah, right! She ain't your woman!" Inuyasha yelled back.

The miko looked to the skies, _"Why is it, when Inuyasha gets mad, his grammar goes out the door?"_

"I warned you!" Kouga got into a fighting stance.

"This is gonna be easy." Inuyasha brandished his sword.

"_Oh, Kami."_ The miko sighed.

"I doubt it. Even with that stupid sword, I can beat you to a pulp."

Kagome cringed, _"This is getting really annoying!"_

"Sure you can!" The hanyou countered sarcastically, "and I'll be saying bye to your pulpy little self at the end of this!"

"Will you two just stop?!" Kagome screamed.

Both men froze. "Kagome, my dear." Kouga ventured.

"Kouga, you may leave now." The young woman all but ordered. Dumbfounded, the wolf demon nervously saluted and sped off. Kagome, on the other hand, confidently marched toward Miroku and Sango, where she linked arms with them and began to ask about what happened while she was gone. The monk and demon slayer went with it smoothly. Shippo then jumped on her shoulder and Kilala pranced after the group leaving Inuyasha all by himself.

His eye twitched. "KAGOME!"

The girl stopped in her tracks and asked for a moment from her friends. They accepted tensely and continued on their way, not wanting to see this performance. Kagome made her way over the pissed dog demon. Placing her hands on her hips she demanded, "What?"

"What? What?! WHAT IS _WRONG_ WITH YOU?!" Still holding his sword, he let that hand drop to his side while his free hand gestured in the direction Kouga left.

"What is _wrong_ with me?!" Kagome put her hands to her sides where she clenched her fists.

"I HAD HIM!!"

"EXCUSE ME, MISTER! BUT YOU _HAD_ NO BODY!! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT-"

"SO YOU _WANT_ TO BE WITH THAT WOLF SHIT?!?" Inuyasha gaped at her, fuming.

"_WHAT?!_ HE IS NOT WOLF SHIT, AND NOR DO I LOVE HIM!!" Kagome screamed while glaring daggers at the hanyou from under her bangs. She was on her tiptoes, trying to be taller than him for some physiological advantage. It wasn't working. The two both leaned towards each other so they were nose to nose, yelling.

"BUT YOU WANT TO BE WITH HIM!"

"WHAT PART OF 'I _DO NOT_ LOVE' DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!?"

"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?!? YOU LIKE HIM! ISN'T THAT ENOUGH?!"

"**INUYASHA!** I ONLY STAY WITH PEOPLE I LOVE! HE'S…only…an…acquaintance…" They were both gasping for breath when Kagome stopped to only have her last screamed words echo in her head.

"_I ONLY STAY WITH PEOPLE I LOVE!"_

"You…"Inuyasha trailed off, still panting.

Her eyes were wide as she tried not to blush. "Um…you know what?" The miko looked at him nervously and the hanyou provided her with an expression of confusion. "I bet the others are wondering where we are." She clapped her hands and began to walk back briskly.

"Kagome…"

"Oh, and sheathe your sword, Inuyasha, Kaede probably won't want your transformed Tetsusaiga in her hut." The bemused hanyou did what he was told and picked up Kagome's forgotten backpack.

Inuyasha then followed at a distance so he could think. _"She stays with me. Well, she stays with the whole group. That's probably what she meant. She just loves…us."_ His ears drooped as they arrived at the hut. Setting down the yellow pack, the half demon mumbled that he was going to be back later and jumped off.

-----

Kagome watched as Inuyasha leaped into the sky and then let the mat fall back over to doorway. She sighed.

Inuyasha ended up on the roof, even though he wanted to be a far away from the woman, who was confusing him to death at the moment, as possible, he couldn't bear to be farther than the hut roof. He listened to the clamor down below.

"_Inuyasha's an idiot." _He heard Shippo say. The half demon was just about to jump down and give that little runt a good whacking when his ears picked up Kagome's voice.

"_Please don't say that, Shippo."_ Inuyasha's heart stopped. It sounded like she was close to tears.

"_Kagome? Are you alright?"_ It was Sango. She sounded worried.

"_I-I'm fine."_ Kagome sniffed. _"I'm going to take a walk. I'll be back, okay?"_ Inuyasha listened to the others agree and then heard the soft swish of the mat door. Jumping up, the hanyou scurried to the edge of the roof so he could see the miko walk towards his forest with her bow and arrows. She was gripping the strap of her quiver with her head bowed.

Kagome wiped her wet eyes with her sleeves. "Kami, I cry too much." Swiftly, she brought her head up and glanced around. _"Uh-oh, if Inuyasha smells my tears, he'll definitely come running. And he's the last person I want to see."_ Kagome thought frantically as she took off at a jog.

The hanyou saw the miko run into the forest and decided to follow. He had heard the scolding she gave herself and believed she was kind of right but then quickly banished those thoughts because she had a reason to cry the other times…but what was she crying about now? Inuyasha leapt from branch to branch, pursuing the young woman from above and constantly sniffing for threats. The pursued soon slowed to a stop. _"What is she doing?"_ Kagome looked around her slowly and the jerk her head up, staring in the direction of Inuyasha and the tree he was in. _"Does she know I'm here?"_ The half demon melded against the bark and prayed she couldn't see him from that high up. She drew an arrow. _"Ah, shit."_ But then he smirked. _"She's pretty good," _he admitted, _"but I can beat her."_

All thoughts of Inuyasha and her emotional problems flew out the window when Kagome heard some suspicious rustling above her as she ran. Slowing to a stop, the miko glanced around her ready to draw an arrow. Instincts told her up. And so she looked. A few leaves shuddered but the canopy was so thick, the woman doubted that she would be able to make out anything. Kagome pulled an arrow from her quiver and knocked it.

Inuyasha launched himself silently to the tree behind him and waited, coiled, ready to pounce. The miko pulled back on the string of her bow a couple of times to loosen it a bit and then began to circle the tree her hanyou had just occupied. _"She's real good…but not good enough."_ The half demon smiled oddly with pride and dropped to the forest floor noiselessly.

Sighing, Kagome stopped circling and de-knocked her arrow, placing it back in her quiver. _"I could have sworn the was something following me-"_

"EEEK!!" The miko shrieked as she was grasped from behind and reacted normally, "INUYASHA!!"

The young woman was set down. "How'd you know it was me?" A laughing male voice rumbled from behind her. Kagome spun around and gasped when she saw the hanyou, throwing herself into him. He grunted at their contact and gaped when the girl began to cuss him out.

"You son of a bitch! How **dare** you frighten me like that?!" She punched him in the chest, though it didn't do any damage.

Seizing her waist, Inuyasha hugged her so she couldn't throw punches anymore. "I didn't mean to."

"As if, 'I didn't mean to.'" Kagome muttered from his haori. The hanyou gave a light smile. He could tell that there wasn't any force behind her words. Kagome lifted her head from his chest and gazed at him. "How come you're being so nice lately?" She whispered.

The miko caught him off guard, "Nice?" Then, at the same time, they were both devastatingly aware of every place they touched. Inuyasha's cheeks burned from his blush and Kagome acquired a nice light pink color on her face. Their eyes met.

"_Kiss him."_ The miko's conscience urged.

"_Kiss her!"_ The hanyou's human half (or Miroku half) pressed.

"_Kiss him."_

"_Kiss her!!"_

"_Kiss him!"_

"_KISS HER!"_

Neither realized that their lips were dangerously close to meeting, and neither cared when they did. Inuyasha's eyes slipped closed. His hands on Kagome's hips lifted her off the ground so she could reach him better, and the woman tipped her head back slightly, eyes closed, pressing her lips against his. The hanyou leaned into her and opened his mouth pushing his tongue on her bottom lip so that her mouth opened also. Kagome's hands traveled up his arms, past his shoulders to his neck, delving her fingers into his silky locks.

"INUYASHA?" It was Sango. The couple jerked away from each other, panting. "Inuyasha? Is that you?" Her voice neared them. "Oh! Kagome! It's you too. Good." Sango came from the path the miko was on not too long ago and approached them blissfully unaware that Kagome was flushed and gasping, and Inuyasha was trying to gain his composure. "Guess what?" She chirped.

"Wh-what?" The hanyou meekly croaked.

"We got a new lead! Apparently, there's a demon with a fairly large piece of jewel in a town not too far away from here! We could set off tomorrow!" Excited to finally have some action, since Naraku's been dormant for a while, the slayer took Kagome's hand and began to sprint off with her. "We're going to go find Miroku, Inuyasha! See you at dinner!" They disappeared behind the foliage.

Inuyasha slumped to the ground and ran a clawed hand through his hair. _"Gods…"_

-----

OMG! TEN FREAKING PAGES! I'm sorry I didn't get this to you guys last night, I just started to run a fever again so I had to go to bed early. –Is so exhausted-

Instead of my usual 1935 words I gave you people an extra 400 words! How 'bout it? Yeah, I know you luff me.

AHHH!!!!! THEY KISSED--WHAT NOW?!?!?!?!?

Let us consult the **"What Will Happen Next?!?!?"** bag:

-Digs- AH-HA!! It's…the demon rumor!! What's this? A _CAT_ demon? In love? WITH KAGOME?!? **NO WAI?!?!!??!??!??!**

Until next time…_**REVIEW!**_

-KikyouHater-


	8. What is Jealousy

**Disclaimer- **GODS! JUST LOOK BACK AT THE LAST 7 CHAPTERS FOR A FRIKKIN DISCLAMER OKAY?!? –Goes and cries in a corner- Whaaa…

WARNING: Emotion and action packed chapter. May be long…scratch that. It WILL be long.

-----

Dinner that night was unusually quiet. Except for a taijiya. Sango was ravenous and disciplined everyone, "Eat your dinners! We have a demon ahead of us to fight! Come on! Eat up!"

Miroku cautiously leaned towards Kagome and whispered, "Boy, someone's excited."

Sango abruptly stopped scarfing down her food and seemed to shoot lightning bolts at the monk from her eyes. "I heard that!"

"Eh?" The pervert was immediately sitting erect, eating his own food when he mumbled, "I'm sorry, my dear Sango, but I have no-"

And hence, Miroku was out cold. The demon slayer set her Hiraikotsu against the wall and proceeded to drag him out of the hut grumbling, "'I have no idea', my butt." Once she had successfully plopped the monk down outside, Sango held the mat door open for a few more seconds as she spoke to her friends, "I'll be back you guys, Houshi's overdue for a nice long talk about manners with me."

"Heh, heh…have fun!" Kagome nervously chuckled, not looking forward to the silence she was about to spend with a specific hanyou. Shippo had already fallen asleep, unfortunately and Kilala was mewing softly in dreamland too so… _"Darn."_

Throughout Sango and Miroku's performance, Inuyasha sat leaning on the hut wall, having already finished his ramen long ago. _"Man, I wonder what it was that made her cry today."_ His golden orbs flicked to the woman of his thoughts. She was speedily finishing her dinner in front of the small fire. _"Is she still upset about her grandfather? Or is she afraid that I got the wrong idea when she said that stuff today about lov-" _The miko suddenly stood and pulled out her sleeping bag. Inuyasha thanked Sango and Miroku for coincidentally leaving at the right moment, "Hey, wench."

Kagome sighed and stopped preparing her bed, "I have a name, you know."

The hanyou ignored her, "Why were you crying today?"

The girl's eyes widened and she produced a small gasp, "I-I don't…know what you're talking about." Kagome heard him snort. _"Smooth. That was only the--LAMEST EXCUSE YOU COULD HAVE USED!"_ She groaned to herself. "Listen, Inuyasha. I don't really want to talk about it right now." The miko turned to face him. His face bore a concerned expression instead of the smirk that she believed would be there.

"Kagome…" He pleaded.

"I'm going to sleep." The girl retorted as she avoided his beautiful but convincing eyes by spinning around and plopping onto her sleeping bag.

"Kagome!" He whined.

She drew her covers over her head and turned away from him. Then the mat door of the hut flew open to reveal a guilty looking Miroku and a smug Sango. "Going to sleep already, Kagome?" The taijiya questioned. The girl nodded. "That's a great idea! Early-wait, what was it again, Kagome?"

Said girl spoke in a muffled but still understandable voice from under her covers, "Early bird catches the worm, Sango."

"Right. Early bird catches the worm!" the demon slayer announced, shooing Miroku off to bed, _away_ form where she was sleeping.

-----

Soon enough, everyone got into their respectable bed and fell asleep quite swiftly, except for a hanyou, who never slept (well, barely) and a miko, who had more important things on her mind than rest._ "Oh, I'm screwed. Tomorrow he's probably going to be practically shoving me down the well. And since I basically forced a kiss on him and told him that I love him…I just ruined everything, didn't I? Inuyasha will _want_ me to leave! And I'll go because I have to keep my promise to him! Why did I have to say that I'd stay by him as long as he wants me to? I'm such an _idiot_! Why didn't I just say, 'Oh, I love you Inuyasha! I'm going to be something similar to a stalker and never leave you!!' to save myself the trouble?!" _Kagome created a sound similar to a groan in the silence of the night.

Inuyasha's ears perked up. _"Kagome?"_ Thinking it was nothing, the hanyou returned to his thoughts. _"You ass! Why did you force that kiss on her?! Huh?! She probably thinks you're some perverted demon waiting to get into her pants! Damn it. How am I gonna protect her from that demon tomorrow if I can't get my feelings straight?!" _Inuyasha twisted his eyes shut.

"_But you _know_ what your feelings are!" _There was that annoying Miroku side again.

"_She-she's a good…friend."_ The half demon pulled a hand over his eyes.

"_Ha! Right."_

"_What, you think I love…her?"_

"_Um…YEAH."_

"_I…"_ Inuyasha sat up quickly. "Kagome?"

She had fallen asleep. "Hm," was her exhausted reply. Without hearing anything for a while, the girl sat up also, to meet the hanyou's gaze. Blushing prettily she whispered, "What?"

"Uh…" Inuyasha blushed too. "Never mind, wench. Go back to sleep."

Kagome blinked, "Er, okay." She plunked back down and immediately began to snore quietly. The dog demon smirked and fell against the wall, staring at the ceiling.

"_I'll make it up to her."_

-----

The wind ruffled the lengthy hair of a particular hanyou and miko. Sango and Miroku (with Kilala- Shippo was back at Kaede's) were up ahead in the path that would shortly lead to the town overtaken by the rumored vicious cat demon. The conversation between the monk and slayer was anything but quiet, unlike Kagome and Inuyasha. The young miko shifted her quiver into a better position on her back, barely listening to Sango yell at the poor houshi for touching her again. Well, he deserved it. Kagome decided to not bring her enormous pack again because of the brief distance they had to travel. Inuyasha was thankful because he was the one that ended up carrying it or her, depending on whether the girl got tired of the book bag or walking first. Not that he minded carrying Kagome.

When they reached an abnormally high hilltop, the reek of smoke smacked the hanyou in the face. Everyone stopped to do the exact opposite of admiring the scorched village and waited for Inuyasha's command. And waited. And waited. "Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered.

The half demon had the most bizarre expression on his face. It was one of anger and confusion. "I can't figure out where that cat demon is…his stench is everywhere, but…but…Kouga's here."

"_What?_" The rest of the gang said in unison.

"Come on." And with that, Inuyasha began sprinting down the hill with the monk, demon slayer, transformed cat demon, and miko trailing behind him.

-----

Before long, they came to what was left of a prosperous marketplace. No one was to be seen. "KOUGA!" Inuyasha bellowed.

…Silence…

"Come on! I know you're there, wolf!"

Something rustled, and someone groaned. The wolf demon appeared from a pile of burnt debris with dust in his hair and blood on his mouth. "Kouga!" Kagome screamed and ran to the injured demon.

"Kagome! What are you doing?" Inuyasha barked after her, sword drawn.

"Can't you see he's hurt?" She scolded the hanyou as she cradled Kouga's head in her arms. He began mumbling something.

Curious, the dog demon inched closer, along with everyone else, "Wench, what's he saying?"

Kagome glared at Inuyasha for the name but did as she was told, "Kouga? Could you speak louder? I can't hear you." The demon coughed and struggled to sit up. "Don't hurt yourself-"

"I'm fine, Kagome." Kouga rasped. "You guys have to get out of here." Panting, the demon explained to the miko, "I came to warn you…and greet you," He gave the girl holding him a charming smile and Kagome chuckled nervously, "…the other day because this cat demon has been around a while now and I didn't want you to come! But you sent me away, my dear, and plus I was distracted with Inuyasha beside you…"

The miko looked sympathetically at the wolf, "Don't worry about it, Kouga. We'll help you."

The demon wheezed, "No! You have to leave, Kagome! You don't understand! I am very confident in your powers, but as lovely as you are-"

Inuyasha scowled and snorted, "Just cut to the point already!"

Kouga glared at the hanyou and then looked back at Kagome, "I am worried that this cat demon, Ketsubou, will try to take you as his mate."

Inuyasha and Kagome both stopped breathing. The hanyou was the first to recover. "Wha-what?!"

"He what?!?" Kagome shrieked, standing up.

"Oof!" Kouga soon regained himself from the ground and stood as well, facing the miko and taking her hands. "That bastard of a demon over heard me talking about you, darling. And now he wants you for himself. That's why I don't want you here."

"I-I…Uh…" Speechless, Kagome was not able to do anything so Inuyasha took over and ripped Kagome away from the wolf demon.

Suddenly, a loud voice thundered across the marketplace, "WHO DARES TO STEP INTO MY TERRITORY?!?"

The whole gang, plus Kouga and minus Kagome because she was forced behind a dog demon and wolf demon, snapped out of their trance and got into battle stances. _"Boy isn't this just dandy?"_ Kagome asked herself.

"Stay hidden behind me, Kagome." Inuyasha ordered.

Kagome nodded, knowing that the half demon knew she had agreed. Call it instincts.

Immediately, Kouga began arguing with the hanyou, "No, she'll be safer behind me!" He hissed uncharacteristically.

"Kagome, stay where you are!" Inuyasha whispered.

"_Oh, Gods! Not again!"_ Kagome began to pity herself.

"Get behind me, Kagome!!" The wolf all but subtly yelled at the miko and dragged her behind him.

"She's staying behind ME!" Inuyasha retorted, totally blowing her cover now that the cat demon, dressed in an icy blue kimono, had appeared before them. Sango, Miroku, and Kilala faithfully kept their stances and tried to ignore the bickering men.

"…I CAN _SO_ PROTECT HER BETTER!!"

Ketsubou raised an eyebrow as he watched the two and then finally centered in on the miko. _"She looks like the tasty mate."_ He smirked and approached the group. The monk, fire cat demon, and demon slayer stepped in front of him when he got too close.

"You'll have to get past us first." Sango stated confidently.

The cat demon's smirk got wider. (AN- Cheshire cat!) He flicked his wrist and called his mountain lions upon the three so they were occupied. Ketsubou continued his trek towards the young miko tug-o-war game.

"Guys…" Kagome finally discovered that her friends were engaged in battle while she was being argued over…again and that there was a powerful and lustful looking cat demon walking calmly towards her.

"You looking for a fight, dog-shit?"

"Um…guys?" Kagome began to hide herself behind Inuyasha.

"Shut up! You're just worried that I'll beat you!!"

"Guys!" The miko screamed at them, at last getting their attention, which only transferred to Ketsubou at the last minute.

"Hey! You again!" Kouga roared.

"Ha! He don't look to powerful." Inuyasha produced a cocky laugh.

"_Ah! GRAMMAR!! Where is it?"_ Kagome mentally slapped herself in the head from behind the hanyou, _"This is gonna be interesting…"_

Ketsubou spoke in a low bass, "Appearances can be deceiving." His violet eyes roved over the two men to stop at Kagome, who tried to disappear into Inuyasha. "But, the miko. Her looks are apparently very... satisfying and…sincere."

"Fuck off!" Inuyasha trembled and pressed the young woman closer to his back.

"You haven't claimed her, _half_ demon. So I still have a chance." The cat demon grinned, staring a Kagome, who, at this point, was fed up with every body fighting over her.

The miko stepped from behind Inuyasha and was about to speak her mind when she was grabbed by Kouga and placed behind him. "She's _my_ woman! So both of you, back off!!"

"You haven't claimed her either, wolf." Ketsubou sneered.

"Kagome is no one's woman! I _said_ FUCK OFF!" The miko praised the hanyou silently for defending her.

"But I, Ketsubou, will have no one else!"

"She's mine!" Kouga growled at him.

Inuyasha began to breath heavily, with his bangs in front of his eyes as the other two demons quarreled some more, and nobody noticed this but Kagome. The half demon then started to growl, increasing its volume until he had everyone's attention, even the mountain lions'. The silver haired demon still didn't lift his head but shook with his fist clenched at his sides, drawing blood. Fear crept into Kagome's heart…was he turning…?

An ominous wind blew the hair from Inuyasha's face to reveal purple demon marks on his cheeks and blood red eyes glaring at all of them. "Inuyasha!" The miko shouted and she cast herself before the transformed half demon, clutching his fire-rat sleeves like she did at Kaguya's castle. "Don't transform! Inuyasha!" He snarled at her and grasped her lower back and dug his long claws into her flesh. The miko screamed in pain then whispered, "Come back to me…please."

Kagome's world became dark.

-----

Yeah, I know you hate me. But you also lurb me for giving you two chappies in one day! How about that?!

I'm too exhausted to bring out the "**What Will Happen Next?!?!?"** Bag…

Have fun imagining what happens!!

Oh, and _**REVIEW!!!**_

-KikyouHater-


	9. What is Change

**Disclaimer-** -Dances to "Soljer Boy"-

WARNING: Lots of FLUFF.

-----

Kagome only woke once on that same day.

She felt as if she was flying, She felt warm. Something…no, someone was holding her. The miko tried to open her eyes, but she was too tired. The gale whipped her hair. She was moving. And fast.

Kagome fell back into unconsciousness as a new wave of exhaustion crashed down on her.

-----

The miko lay on a hay futon. She awoke again with only one vivid memory as her main thought. Inuyasha transformed. Kagome stirred in her bed and felt abnormally cold. Not quite ready to open her eyes yet, she used her other senses to pin point where she was. The young woman heard the shuffle and creak of bones. The pungent odor of tea and other herbs suddenly smacked her nose and she abruptly opened her eyes. "Kaede," she coughed dryly as the old woman made her steady way over to the younger miko.

"Ah, so ye have awakened, child." The grandmother figure spoke and placed the tea she was holding next to Kagome's arm. "Do ye think ye can sit up?" The girl paled as she struggled and finally accomplished the task to be rewarded with the hot tea.

She drank but then spoke, "Kaede, what happened?" Setting the cup down, Kagome felt worry grip her.

"I think it may be best for the slayer Sango to tell the tale, for I have not an accurate story." The old woman patted her leg and disappeared behind the hanging mat and returned shortly with the taijiya.

"Oh, Kagome!" Sango rushed over to her friend and gripped her in a suffocating hug. "I was so worried!"

"Ehm…Sango? Can you let go of me?" Kagome choked.

The demon slayer immediately released the miko and settled down on the floor next to her futon. "I guess you don't remember anything, do you?" The girl spoke after a while.

"No, Sango, I don't. Tell me everything, please." Kagome gave her friend a set of anxious eyes and the girl caved.

"Alright. But don't freak out until I finish."

The miko inwardly gasped. _"Don't freak out until she finishes? That means she knows I'm going to freak! Oh, no."_ Kagome took a deep breath,"Okay…"

"Well when Inuyasha…transformed, you ran up to him. Heh, of course. He then gave you those nasty deep gashes on your back." The slayer gestured to the bandages wrapped around the other girl's waist. "You fainted after screaming something like 'Come back to me' or…something." Kagome blushed. "Inuyasha, well, demon Inuyasha let you fall." Sango began to ramble, "We didn't hear a crack so you didn't get hurt any more except for maybe those wounds opening some more, but after you fell, we, Miroku, Kilala, and I, wanted to go to you, but it really wouldn't have done us any good if we got injured and couldn't help you by getting too close. I'm sorry, Kagome." Sango looked at her hands in her lap.

"No, Sango. I wouldn't have wanted you to get hurt too. You did what you could." The miko placed a comforting hand on the taijiya's shoulder, "Go on please."

"Right. Anyways, Inuyasha went crazy at Ketsubou and Kouga. He managed to kill that cat demon, thankfully and hurt Kouga pretty bad. So Kouga ran away reluctantly after telling us he'd check up on you in while."

When the slayer took a breath, Kagome grabbed the chance to ask another question, "Hold on, Sango. How long have I been out?"

The girl looked up and seemed to count in her head, "This would have been your fourth day. Mainly because of the amount of blood you lost."

Kagome's mouth formed the perfect "o" shape. After a moment she waved Sango on, "Okay, so…it was just the demon Inuyasha, Miroku, Kilala and I. He began to walk towards us with that menacing smirk and I was really afraid to do anything because I didn't want to hurt him. But coincidentally, and I thank you for this, you were in Inuyasha's path to get to us, so he kinda stepped in your pool of blood and almost tripped over you. I think the scent of your blood and the feel of your body set him off." Sango paused, trying to think of how she would phrase the next few words, "He seem startled to notice you there and shook his head a couple of times, kneeling down. I don't know exactly when he came back to his old self, but after about a minute by your side, he began yelling your name." Sango sighed. "It was a bit scary. Kagome, I've never seen someone look that heartbroken."

The miko was almost in tears. She was in shock. "He screamed my…name?"

The slayer nodded solemnly and whispered, "I think I only appeared that devastated when I lost my own family." Suddenly, the miko's friend looked up to pierce her with a gaze, "Kagome, if that isn't love, I don't know what is."

The girl stopped breathing but shook her head slightly, "but it's the exact same with Kikyou."

"Kagome…"Sango argued.

"What happened next?" The other girl tried and successfully changed the subject.

"Well, he then picked you up, totally ignoring us and…and…um." Sango looked a bit confused. "He ran so fast I…I don't think I ever saw him." She paused. "But, anyway, Miroku and I rode Kilala quickly back here and Kaede said that once Inuyasha had appeared to her yelling 'Help Kagome', she instantly got to work. And after he had made sure that you were okay, he left. We got back later. But…we've only seen Inuyasha twice since then."

The miko slumped back down onto her bed and closed her eyes. _"Man, what a time I've been having. Burglary, Gramps, Kouga, Ketsubou, and now Inuyasha."_ Kagome heaved a sigh and when she opened her eyes again, Sango had left. _"What am I going to do?"_

-----

Somewhere in the Inuyasha forest, a hanyou was disturbing the peace…

"AH!" The silver haired demon released an agonizing roar as he severed another tree trunk from its base. He breathed violently and let the tip of his sword rest on the ground. "Kagome…I'm sorry." The hanyou swung the wind scar at another tree, amputating three in the process. Cold sweat ran down his cheek. No, he wasn't tired. He was afraid. _"She's probably already awake. She'll be frightened when she sees me, the demon bastard that almost killed her." _Inuyasha whimpered and dropped his sword. _"I didn't get the chance to make it up to her."_

"Inuyasha?" Miroku's baritone floated through the trees. "Inuyash-?"

"Yeah, I hear ya," the half demon sighed.

The monk appeared from the trees that weren't cut down and didn't seem surprised to view the disaster the foliage came to be. "Kagome's awake-" With a rush of air, the hanyou was gone. Miroku looked to the sky, shaking his head, "Will he ever let me finish my sentences?"

-----

"_Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay!"_ A particular dog demon dodged trees and leapt over bushes while sprinting to the hut. The quaint little house came into view at last. Inuyasha slowed to a quick jog and tore the mat door aside, skidding to a stop. Lips parted, out of breath, the hanyou stood there and gazed at the miko, who was sitting on her futon staring with a concerned expression, right back at him. Sango and Kaede, who had just finished cleaning Kagome's wounds, stopped their doings at the other side of the room when Inuyasha came in and watched as the panting hanyou took a small step toward the young miko. "Kagome…" The girl tried to stand but lost her balance. Sango attempted to go after her friend but Kaede stopped her and nodded knowingly towards Inuyasha who had reached out and caught Kagome gently. She then looked up, clutching his haori and smiled lightly. "I'm sorry!" The hanyou blurted appearing close to tears, "It's all my fault." He whimpered and then buried his nose in the hair that fell on her shoulder.

"Inuyasha!" The young miko chided him while pulling away slightly. She cupped his cheek with a small hand and whispered reprovingly, "Don't you say that again."

"But it is, Kagome! If I hadn't turned demon on you-"

"Yes, that's right. If only you were human." The girl mocked. The silver haired man furrowed his brows. "Don't you see, Inuyasha? I like you as a half demon. And if that means you will turn into a full demon-"

"Finish that sentence and I'll-" He threatened.

"…every once in a while, I will _still_ stay with you." Kagome stated calmly.

"No!" Inuyasha shook her, even then holding her waist. "I-I'll turn human!"

This made the miko furious, "What is _with you_ and wanting to change yourself for others benefit?! I just told you that I want you as a half demon, baka!!" She screamed in his face.

"I DON'T WANT TO PUT YOU IN DANGER!" Inuyasha yelled twice a loud, scaring their spectators but intriguing them even more and convincing them to stay to see how this would turn out.

"THEN YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST SHOVE ME DOWN THAT GODFORSAKEN PORTAL THAT BROUGHT ME HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!" Kagome spat.

The hanyou seemed to think a while and then said to himself, "I think I will."

"**YOU WHAT?!?**" The miko struggled as she was then picked up and carried to the well. Everyone, even Kilala wanted to see this, so the whole gang (including Kaede) followed.

-----

The miko and hanyou shortly arrived at the well with her shrieking unladylike phrases such as, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT OR I'LL PURIFY YOUR ASS!!!"

Inuyasha held her over the time portal and came nose to nose with her, "Kagome, I'm sorry, but you aren't safe here-"

"DAMN IT! JUST KEEP ME WITH YOU!" The young woman cried trying to wrench her way out of his grasp, panicking, _"Why do I have to leave now? I don't want to leave! I don't want to leave! I don't want to leave!"_ There was that choking lump in her throat again. It cut off her already shallow air supply since she had been taking quick terrified breaths and she began to sob dryly from her position above the well, still unsuccessfully twisting her way out of his grip, "Don't make me go, Inuyasha!" She gasped, "I don't want to leave you!" This time tears made their way down her cheeks.

The hanyou seem to freeze as he viewed her tears but then plucked the shards from her neck and whispered, "But _I_ want you safe."

And then, Kagome fell.

-----

Wow, sorry for such a short chapter guys! I just really needed to get this awful one out of the way. XP

I'll make it up to you in the next one or two (don't know how long they're gonna be yet).

Whoa, déjà vu!!! Bow to the almighty Aijou!!! (She's my muse –Snuggles-)

**What Will Happen Next?!?!?** Bag—

-Digs- AH-HA!! It's…Kagome! She's depressed? (bet you didn't see that coming –Brick'd-) And Inuyasha…admits something?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? NO WAI?!?!?

_**REVIEW PLEASE 3**_

-KikyouHater-


	10. What is Love

**Disclaimer-** YAY! Tenth chapter!!! Good Charlotte owns "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" lyrics. Timbaland owns "Apologize" lyrics.

I give a sincere apology to those who think I am a mother -insert the appropriate expletive- for not updating fast enough or uploading that last crappy chapter. Well, life's not fair.

-----

The drop was anything but painless. Kagome could still hear her friends' desperate cries as she sat at the bottom of the well, hysterically clawing at the packed dirt of the bottom of the well. The image of Inuyasha's face, that looked close to breaking from a dam of tears, singed into the back of her eyelids. Hot tears burned her eyes as they spilled over, splashing on the ground and wetting her now skinned and bleeding fingers. Her throat was cracked and dry, despite her watery eyes, because of her screams.

Kagome wouldn't wake up the next day remembering what exactly she did or yelled at the agonizingly silent well. But her mother would always remember coming home from work hearing her daughter's heart-shattering wails and running to the well house, trembling, afraid of what her loved one had lost. When the desperate mother saw the girl howling with an equal number of dried up and moist tear tracks down her face, a dirtied school outfit, and wounded fingers, she leaped down the well and dragged her up, trying to quell the miko's screeching that fit under every synonym list from lamenting to shrieking to whimpering.

Kagome wouldn't remember how she finally arrived to her room and fell on her bed screaming bloody murder, "HE'S GONE!!" in a long and drawn out keen.

She would never remember her mother weeping herself as she bandaged her daughter's fingers.

She wouldn't remember Souta coming home and when realizing what was wrong, running to his room screaming and crying like a little boy having a tantrum.

She would never remember her mother attempting to sooth her by embracing the distraught miko and rocking her back and forth saying, "Let it out. Let it out. Don't worry, baby, he'll come back. He'll come back."

And she'll never remember falling asleep after four hours of straight sobbing.

And she'll never remember the tears that leaked out while she was in dreamland.

But Kagome will remember waking up around one in the morning, feeling stuffy and drained of tears, and staring out her window, hoping and wishing that a particular golden-eyed demon would appear at the sill, for the rest of the night.

-----

Sango felt something crack inside of her, and like gasoline with fire, she was upon the hanyou. The slayer said things not understandable at first, and began throwing wild punches and managed to land a few kicks in his groin.

"YOU-YOU **BAKA!!**" She screamed, crying. "YOU PUSHED HER THROUGH THE WELL AGAIN!!!! **SHE CAN NEVER GET BACK!!!**" The taijiya hit Inuyasha square in the face, successfully throwing him to the ground. Sango jumped on top of him and launched her fists against his jaw and stomach.

Miroku, whose knees had buckled when Kagome was dropped, fell to the ground also, but in a less hurtful manner, and let his tears run freely down his cheeks. The peacemaker did nothing to stop the turmoil next to him and seemed oblivious to the wailing kit and mewing cat demon on his other side. Kaede, on the other hand, seemed prepared enough for this disaster and just solemnly tottered back to her hut to prepare dinner.

Inuyasha didn't bother to fight back. He knew he probably deserved it, especially without warning the others, but he did get up eventually when Sango had taken a breather, moving up off of him. "Why, Inuyasha?" She whispered to the hanyou who was currently hiding his eyes under his bangs. "Why did you do this?"

The half demon's head flew up and his golden orbs penetrated Sango's maroon eyes, causing her to gasp.

He was crying.

"Because…" He looked like he was having trouble getting his pride to approve of his next words, "I don't want to lose her. I can't bear to see her die." Another tear slipped past his mouth, unchecked.

Another bout of tears came over Sango suddenly and she fell down similarly to Miroku and pointed off into the woods, "Now go, before I decide to beat you more."

Inuyasha leaped away without a sound.

-----

Kagome awoke the next morning…err…afternoon with the dreadful cold, sticky feeling that came after crying too much. She sniffed, _"I need to take a bath."_

"Kagome? Is that you, honey?" The gentle voice of her mother floated in from outside her door. "Can I come in?"

The miko nodded then realized that her mother couldn't possibly see her with an opaque object between them. "Come on in, Mama."

Her mother inched inside and quickly shut the door behind her. The older woman was sporting gray sweat pants with a with t-shirt and dark circles under her eyes. "Souta has been taking…this…hard."

Kagome felt tears well up in her eyes but immediately banished them, rubbing her eyes frantically with her sleeves. "Yeah…" She sniffed again. "I-I'm going to take a bath."

"Good idea, dear. But I want you to have something to eat after you get out, okay?" He mother walked over and gave Kagome a sympathetic hug. "It'll be fine."

The girl took quick breaths to calm herself. "Th-thanks, Mom." When her mother had left, glancing back one last time and performing a loving mother smile, Kagome shrugged out of her clothes feeling lower than hell. _"This has to be 'make the poor girl want to kill herself' month." _The miko yanked at the lever and the shower spurted to life with hot, steaming water. Stepping inside, she sighed. _"I'll have to forget him. I'll have to get him out of my mind." _The girl let the water pound against her head and exhaled, reaching for the shampoo. She squirted some in her hair, created a sweet smelling froth, and began to sing.

"Everybody, put up your hands!

Say I don't wanna be in love!

I don't wanna be in love!

Feel the beat now!

If you got nothing left,

Say I don't wanna be in love!

I don't wanna be in love!

Back it up now!

You got a reason to live,

Say I don't wanna be in love!

I don't wanna be in love!

Feelin' good now!

Don't be afraid to get down,

Say I don't wanna be in love!

I don't wanna be in love!

Lo-ove…Lo-ove…"

Kagome got out of the bathroom wrapping her hair up in a towel, feeling a bit refreshed. She expelled any thought of her silver haired hanyou and danced like her life depended on it. That is, until her mother called her downstairs to pick up the phone. "Coming Mama!" The miko dressed hastily and dashed down to the kitchen, snatching the phone from Mrs. Higurashi and chirping, "Hello?"

"KAGOME?!" Three voices, that could only be her friends from this time, blared into her ear causing her to hold the device at arm's length until they calmed down.

"Um, hey girls! What going on?" As they talked, the miko tried to focus on what they were trying to tell her but new make-up and actors didn't really appeal to her anymore. After a few minutes of her drifting to and from the conversation, she thought, "_They're nothing like what I would normally talk about with my friends back down the well…the topics here seem so shallow. Ah! I am _so_ not going to think about them anymore! I've got to keep my mind away from Inuyasha…"_

"So?" Eri sang.

Kagome shook her head, to clear it, "Um, what was that?"

"You! Us! The fair! Today!" Yumi ordered.

"It's gonna be sooo much fun!!" Ami added.

"Well…" Kagome wasn't sure that she could handle herself just after leaving Inuya- No! She wasn't going to think about him!!

"Come _on!_" Yumi implored.

The miko heaved a sigh. "Why not?"

The three girls squealed.

-----

The fair was exactly how she recalled it when she was a little girl with her mom and dad before he died. Cotton candy and funnel cake stands, happy tinkling music with an unidentifiable source, the faint smell of cigarette smoke, rides creaking as they spun or rocked with screaming passengers, and the texture of the "all-rides pass" beneath your thumb. "This is sooo cool!!!" Eri dashed to the closest rollercoaster ride. "Hurry up, guys! The line's not that long!"

Kagome was dragged around the rest of the night, feeling free of a certain hanyou at some moments until something reminded her of him in some subtle way…

Like that plastic sword a little boy way swinging around…

Like that necklace with only a round purple-pink ball hanging from it…

Like that teen couple kissing on the Farris wheel…

"_Jeez, girl, get a GRIP!"_ The miko scolded herself as she was in line with Ami for some funnel cake and an elephant ear for Eri and Yumi who were getting drinks. As Ami was about to order though, Kagome felt something wet drop on her arm. And another. And another. The girl looked up to see a humongous flash of lightning.

Then people began to scream all around her and rush to their cars as a torrential rain poured down.

-----

Inuyasha soared through the trees 500 years in the past, growling at himself. _"If it's for her own good, then why am I feeling like shit?"_ He stopped, realizing that he had leapt in a disfigured circle, landing at the well clearing again. _"Damn it! This is the third time I've done this!"_ Scowling, the hanyou turned and bounded in the opposite direction. _"I just have to forget about her. I can't go back. I can't ever go back to get her."_ He jumped up into his favorite tree, Goshinboku. The half demon knocked his head on the trunk as he let it fall to rest on the tree. Inuyasha sighed heavily. _"I can't. I won't. She's safer there."_ Closing his eyes, his thoughts roared within him and suddenly it came at full force. _"But what if there's a demon in her era that comes to get her and she tries to get back to me but can't and then-"_

The silver haired demon didn't bother to finish that sentence before he was hurtling through the forest towards the well. _"I hope I can still get through,"_ was Inuyasha's last thought before purple light engulfed him.

-----

Kagome was soaked to her underwear. Gripping the hand of Eri, she was tugged along through the crowd of squealing babies, shouting adults, and some crying kids. "We have to hurry, Kagome!" Eri screamed back at her. "Ami and Yumi are already on the bus!" The miko clutched her friend's hand harder as she was almost pushed onto the ground.

Lightning flashed.

"Eri!!" She tried to get the girl's attention. Losing her footing now wasn't going to do them any good. "Can we slow do-"

Abruptly, a big burly man shoved through the packed and panicking mass, throwing Kagome to the muddy ground and dislodging her hold on Eri's hand. The girl looked up and attempted to pick herself from the floor, seeing her friend's face glance frantically back towards her before it was consumed by the rushing mob. "ERI!!" Kagome screamed, suddenly afraid. She was stuck. She couldn't get up. People were closing in from all around, dashing past her.

Lightning flashed and the rain came down harder than ever.

-----

Inuyasha stepped out of the well house and immediately began cursing. "Why does it have to rain?!" He sniffed madly around the shrine grounds. Once realizing that Kagome had left with her three girl friends that wore a large amount of smelly stuff the miko called 'perfume'. (Inuyasha forbade her to wear any once she explained it to him… _"Not like she needs that stuff anyway. She smells just fine how she is."_) But once it began to pour harder, the half demon became anxious to find her fast.

He flew past buildings and trees, reaching a more country-like area with flashing lights in what Inuyasha thought resembled a mini village. Too many scents to count were emitting from the place, but his sixth sense Inuyasha had acquired when Kagome had joined him and kept getting into trouble, told him she was there.

The silver hanyou dashed towards the fair quicker than any demon.

-----

The urge to scream, like she did when she was in danger in the Feudal Era, bubbled up in the back of her throat like bile. The miko was stepped on and knocked roughly down into the mud whenever she made an effort to stand. With the air crackling with electricity, Kagome looked above her to see the Farris wheel spark and partially explode as lightning crashed into it.

She yelped and scrambled to her feet to only be knocked down again and twisting her ankle. Oh, how clumsy she could be. "Damn." Pain shot up her leg.

The ride creaked and began to fall…

right towards Kagome.

She gave in to the scream.

"INUYASHA!!"

-----

He heard her. He knew it was her scream. His legs pumped double time as he forcefully thrust people, who were dashing away from a big metal machine that was tumbling to the ground, away. Glancing up, and then back to the sprinting crowd, everything happened in slow motion.

Between people, the hanyou's eyes caught a familiar form.

The Farris wheel was closing in on the ground.

The form tried to get up and whimpered, falling.

Inuyasha held out his arms and scooped her up and leaping out of the way as heaps of metal hurtled to the earth, screeching and groaning.

Silence.

Then, chaos.

-----

"_I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm dying."_ Suddenly, Kagome was flying. The world shook with a massive bang.

The miko opened her eyes. Smoke was blurring her vision but it soon cleared because of the vast quantity of downpour. Before her was a destroyed Farris wheel.

Shock had numbed the girl, but now, feeling came back to her. She was being held tightly.

Unexpectedly, the tense silence that pervaded the time after the Farris wheel crashed was gone, screams tripled, and she was set down to the mud gently, separated from the crowd of fair people on the other side of the destruction.

Kagome turned to see her savior.

-----

No one knew how long they stood there. Like before, rain cascaded down, but neither could breathe. Neither could speak.

The sound of sirens broke the couple's stunned quiet. They breathed. Inuyasha whispered, "Am I too late?"

Kagome found her voice, "For what?" She breathed.

"For you."

Her thoughts returned to their argument, then to the talk in the rain before. The miko settled for a quote by Timbaland, "'you tell me that you need me, then you go and cut me down.'"

Inuyasha seemed to be perplexed. "Why do you say that?" A droplet of rain hit his cheek and traveled to his jaw making it look like he was crying.

Lightning detonated in the sky.

They didn't move.

"Because," Kagome sighed, "The song told me…" When Inuyasha gave her a bemused expression, she explained, "Because you said you needed me, but then you threw me down the well. That's why."

Inuyasha gripped her shoulders, "I _need_ you to be alive and safe, Kagome."

The moment swiftly caught up to her, unanticipated, and struck the miko. Tears that the hanyou did not mistake as rain for their salty scent erupted from her eyes and the woman pitched herself into his chest. "But why did you have me leave?!?!" She wailed. "Do you know how awful this made me feel?!?!"

The hanyou embraced her softly and consoled her, "I know. I'm sorry." Then thinking,_ "When would I have ever said sorry to her before?"_

"_Never." _Miroku-in-Inuyasha's-brain pointed out.

"_She's changing me. I'm turning into some pansy!"_ But the hanyou, despite him, nuzzled her hair.

"_No, you _love_ her."_ Inuyasha stopped and could see the Miroku in his brain smirk.

"Come on, Kagome, let's go home." He ignored his thoughts and plucked her off the ground, in his arms.

The young miko nodded and curled into his body warmth, already used to the jolt of the half demon's run.

"_I hope this rain doesn't make her sick…"_ Inuyasha worriedly glanced at the girl and clutched her to him, trying to shield her from the rain as much as he could with his arms.

In his mind, Miroku's smirk grew wider. _"Yeah, _sure_ you don't love her."_

-----

Woo!! Almost as long as the first chapter!! BEAST! 12 pages on Microsoft© Word!! Took me long enough…

-Brick'd-

Ah, screw you people. I worked hard on this one!!! Can't you tell?!?!?!?! –Sobs- Fine! I know I'm a sucky writer, but you're the ones who are reading this. So I must be _kinda_ good at least.

**What Will Happen Next?!?!?** Bag—

-Digs- AH-HA!! It's…fluff? OMG YES!!!!!!! I LOVE FLUFF!!

_**REVIEW!!!**_

-KikyouHater-


	11. What is Hurt

**Disclaimer:** What? I don't own Inuyasha?! OMG. NO. FRIKKIN. WAI.

So so so so so so so so so so sorry about the long long long long wait, guys!! I have been recently bombarded by uncontrollable events!!!

Anyways…ONWARD WITH THE FLUFF!

-----

Kagome felt her feet softly touch the floor of her balcony right outside her window. Opening her drooping eyelids, the miko saw her bed and felt it call to her.

Behind the girl, Inuyasha was protectively holding her up and all her sleepiness with frantic thoughts running through his head. _"Does this mean she forgives me? What could she see in me to let me stay now? Why-"_ The hanyou leaned over slightly to catch Kagome before she fell asleep against her closed window and drew her to his chest. That's when he realized she was soaked. "Shit." Maneuvering the young miko into his arms, Inuyasha whispered in her semi-unconscious ear. "Kagome? Are you cold?" While speaking to the drowsy girl, the half demon slowly unlocked her bedroom window, set her on the ground, and closed it behind him. Kagome nodded faintly and would have slumped to the floor if Inuyasha hadn't kneeled down and caught her with ease. Smirking, he shook his head, "Wench…"

"Inu-Inuyasha?" The miko opened her eyes, more awake this time and draped her arm over his shoulder almost drunkenly. "Can I take a bath?"

The image of Kagome naked flashed in his mind's eye and Inuyasha blushed generously. The demon shifted the girl onto the floor again and told her sternly to get herself undressed and get a bath or he was going to undress her himself.

At this, Kagome became fully awake and almost sat him, but she was so tired. Pointing to the door, the miko ground out "go. I'll be out in 15 minutes." Inuyasha eagerly gave her a wide berth, slipped out the door and then sat down just outside so he could keep an ear on the young woman.

The miko shut the bathroom door behind her while shaking her head, trying to clear away the fogginess of sleep. _"I should probably take a shower since I know I'll fall asleep in the bath tub. And that won't be very good if Inuyasha runs in on me…"_ Kagome blushed at the thought of the half demon seeing her naked. After undressing, Kagome turned on the water and pulled the shower curtain around the tub. She giggled. _"What would I do without you Inuyasha?"_ While washing her body, the girl came to the conclusion that she would either be dead or still in her own time without any knowledge of the Feudal Era. _"Whichever way, it sucks."_ Kagome finished rinsing and just stood in the water a little while longer. _"I wonder what would have happened to him if I hadn't fallen into the well?"_

Meanwhile, the door to the miko's bedroom creaked open as Inuyasha golden orbs flicked to the ticking contraption on her desk. _"Surely it's been 15 minutes already…"_ Suddenly, the running water in the next room stopped. Without thinking, Inuyasha fully stepped into the room as the woman came out with only a towel on.

"EEK!!" Kagome wrapped the fluffy towel more tightly around her body when she saw the half demon standing in front of her bedroom door staring at her with lust swirling in his eyes. "Get OUT!" She pointed a shaking hand to the door behind him as a deep blush rushed to her cheeks.

Inuyasha was dumbfounded. He hadn't seen her this naked in a long time, and let me tell you, she had grown. Her wet, black locks glittered with the water from her shower and clung to her bare shoulders and neck, inviting. The woman's chest, which was pumping up and down with every breath, had a rounded top before it disappeared under the towel with a light sheen from the shower. The cloth ended right above her mid thigh, allowing full view of her lean and shapely legs. The half demon resisted the urge to take her then and swiftly rocketed out of her room before he did something rash.

Once outside in the hall, Inuyasha tried to steady his raging demon blood and calm his…excitement. He felt his cheeks grow hot; the image of Kagome in her bedroom wouldn't go away. Running a clawed hand through his silver hair, the half demon waited, as she got dressed. _"Inuyasha, you bastard. You sick…hanyou. You pervert." _He leaned againstthe wall and let his head drop back. _"Now she'll definitely kick you out…"_

Kagome abruptly emerged from her room, completely dressed, and smiled at him, openly relaxed. "You hungry?"

Inuyasha nodded enthusiastically and leapt up to help her down the stairs. The demon could sense that she was still exhausted, but couldn't figure out why she hadn't sat him yet…or kicked him out…or even gotten angry again.

The miko began walking down the steps thinking, _"I'm flattered that he seemed to find me attractive, but…maybe he was only seeing Kikyou?"_ She shook her head and almost lost her balance from fatigue, except two strong arms kept her from doing so.

"Careful, wench." Inuyasha whispered. The half demon slid his hands from their fierce hold on her to have them rest on her hips as he set her down. Kagome noticed that he didn't let go of her after she began walking again. All too soon enveloped in her own thoughts once more, the young woman stumbled. "Damn it, Kagome." The hanyou scolded her then slipped one hand under her knees with the other curved around her shoulders. "Maybe you're too tired to make ramen."

The miko laid her head in the crook of his neck and nodded glumly, "I'm sorry, Inuyasha."

Surprised, the hanyou peered down at the girl. "Sorry?" He produced a soft snorting sound and chuckled. "You need to rest, wench. Don't be sorry for that." Inuyasha pulled her closer as he turned to walk back up to Kagome's room. The girl's breathing became lingering, letting the demon know that she was asleep. Once again entering the hallway, Inuyasha heard a creaking noise come from behind him. Whipping around, careful not to wake up Kagome, the half demon saw the miko's mother come out of her own room with tired eyes.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome's mother questioned. "You came back?"

Embarrassed, the hanyou nodded and looked down at his feet. "Yeah." He then turned slowly and entered the young woman's room, a sign to the older woman that she could trail behind him. The miko's mother promptly followed and tip toed inside closing the door behind her. She then turned to see Inuyasha gently tuck Kagome in her bed. The elder woman smiled when she saw him stroke her daughter's cheek with his thumb before lifting his head to the mother's eyes with inspecting golden orbs.

"Can I talk to you, Inuyasha?" The woman whispered. The hanyou straightened and followed Kagome's mother over to the window. Moonlight gradually filtered through the clouds outside, washing the both of them in a silver glow. The woman took a deep breath and whispered so quietly that the half demon had to strain to hear her. "Do you love Kagome?"

Inuyasha jerked back a bit and blinked with an intense blush spreading across his cheeks. "I-I…what?"

The mother's eyes suddenly met his with turbulent and raging emotions swirling in their depths. The look was challenging him to deny her. "Do you know how devastating it is to come home to the screams and wails of your daughter because she lost something she held so dearly? Do you know how much she cried your name to that floor of that goddamn well?!" The woman whispered loudly as to not wake up her daughter. "Do you know that she dug at the bottom of that well making her fingers bleed so she could get back to you?!" The demon winced as Kagome's mother took another breath and tried to regain her control.

Inuyasha was speechless. His mouth must have opened and closed at least 50 times before he finally spoke. "Is she okay?"

"What do you think, Inuyasha?" Tears were now collecting in her eyes. "I thought she was going to kill herself." She produced a partly muted sob. "Why did you do that?"

Instinctively, the hanyou turned his head to glance at Kagome. The miko was still breathing calmly in her sleep. With his attention back to her mother, the hanyou whispered, "I…she…I only wanted her safe."

"From what?" The woman retorted. "From some demon? From tripping over a root back in the Feudal Era? Damn it, Inuyasha. I knew that it could happen to her. But I also knew that you could protect her better than anyone I know." The mother then didn't meet his gaze and looked out the window speaking quieter now. "All I want to know is…do you love her?"

The half demon hesitated, "I…I don't…I don't know if I can answer that right now." Inuyasha peered down at his feet as he listened to Kagome's mother speak before exiting the room.

"Alright." She sighed. "All I ask is that you…let her know the truth before leading her on in any way. Okay?"

A fire burned in the hanyou's eyes as he whipped his head up to meet the woman's gaze. "I promise. I will never hurt her."

Weakly smiling, Kagome's mother whispered sadly, "Don't make promises you can't keep, Inuyasha." And with that she walked out of the bedroom.

The silver haired demon shakily sighed as he ran his clawed fingers through his tresses. His shadow soon fell over the young miko in her bed when he made his way over to her. Inuyasha then kneeled and folded his arms on her mattress with his chin resting on his forearms. _"I'm so sorry, Kagome…"_ Lifting his head a bit, the hanyou raised a hand half-heartedly and faltered before touching her cheek. He gave a hopeful grin as the miko leaned into his fingers, smiling herself. Inuyasha then began to run his thumb under her eyes, caressing her neck and jaw with his other digits, chuckling when Kagome started to purr delicately.

The golden-eyed demon brushed some stray locks of black, silky hair from her neck and admired the soft creaminess of her skin. Curious, he fingered her collarbone and felt a jolt of electricity shoot down to his groin when she whispered his name passionately. Inuyasha then stood, tucking the girl even more securely under her covers and strode over the window. Sliding the glass open, the hanyou leapt effortlessly to the tree outside Kagome's room to watch her for the rest of the night.

Inuyasha sighed heartbrokenly and shifted the Tetsusaiga to his arms. _"I can battle demons for her and comfort her…"_ Closing his eyes with the image of Kagome still sleeping in her room, he thought, _"If I only could say it…"_

-----

So…that was a crappy chapter. Not as much fluff as I wanted, but they're getting there!!

Aijou has been a bitch lately so I can't do the **What Will Happen Next?!?!?** Bag yet. I love you all!

_**REVIEW!!!**_ –gives you a cookie-

-KikyouHater-


	12. What is Health

**NOTE-** I don't know what the hell is wrong with my computer or for that matter, but I can't seem to update this crap once it's uploaded. That means my account page is really outdated because I can't change it. So, sorry, but my computer must be having back problems (this server is shit).

Kill me if you can, but you don't know where I live!! I _know_ I haven't updated in forever but you guys just need to suck it with the annoying emails.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own...Yada, yada, yada…

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She felt cold.

Thin pale fingers delicately gripped a clump of sheets with the sweaty palms smearing their clamminess against the cloth. Her throat felt raw and parched. She needed…water….

In her dream, the miko felt an unnatural heat beating down on her face. But her feet, oh, her feet, they were freezing and sore with the cold like her fingers. She swore she could hear the joints groan in protest every time she moved them. A swirling dark fog obscured her vision, but in the corner of her eyes she swore she saw shadowy and sinister creatures leap at her and disappear every time she turned to face them.

The murky image of her surroundings became clearer. She was in a forest, running. But from what? Fear made her heart pump faster as the dream miko entered a dimly lit clearing. A black figure stood in the middle.

"_Inuyasha?"_ The figure turned. At first the man beheld the face of her hanyou, but then the face became twisted and contorted…

An evil chuckle boomed from the trees around them, earning a suspicious glance from the dream Kagome. But when she looked back at the man again, the woman only got one glimpse of his face before a malicious purple cloud masked her brown orbs. She screamed.

"_Naraku."_

In reality, Kagome tossed and turned in her uneasy sleep. Her bottom lip trembled. A moan escaped her dry lips.

-----

Liquid gold eyes flew open. When did he fall asleep? The moon was still out; it shouldn't have been long. Silver light seemed like mist as it filtered through the canopy. The earth was still moist from the rain earlier.

Why did he wake up again? Then he heard it. Inuyasha was standing in a heartbeat. "Kagome?" The tree shivered as the dog demon leapt to the miko's window and slid it open. His eyes effortlessly adjusted to the darkness of the room. The young woman's form turned over in her bed as the hanyou sniffed the stuffy air. He winced. She was sick. _"Shit."_ The demon seemed invisible as he sped to Kagome's side. Kneeling down so that he was level with the bed, Inuyasha whispered her name again while shaking her shoulder. The miko wasn't waking.

"_Shit, shit, shit, shit…"_ The half demon felt her forehead and withdrew his hand quickly. She was burning up- way above normal human temperature. Instincts kicked in and a worried feeling coiled at the pit of his stomach. _"What do I do? Should I get her mother?"_ Absent-mindedly, Inuyasha smoothed her sweat-soaked bangs out of her eyes. The girl groaned again and clenched her teeth as she tried to shift in a more comfortable position. The hanyou stroked her cheek and whispered, "I'll be right back."

-----

Kagome became semi-conscious some point during the night and when she did she felt as if the weight of the always-growing world was crushing her brain. Hot liquid was constantly being poured down her raw throat and she vaguely wondered whether it had been a truck that hit her or a demon back in the Feudal Era.

Another time the miko woke, she was a little more aware of her surroundings and noticed it was overcast daylight streaming through her window, not moonlight. A blurry movement caught her attention and though she couldn't make out whom it was, she distinctly remembered the words, "I'll take care of you, wench, just lay back down and rest."

And so, she let the wonders of a dreamless sleep overcome her.

-----

The third time Kagome woke she was really quite awake. And that was because the birds outside were just a little bit too loud…

And the pot clicking against a metal spoon downstairs was just a little too noticeable…

And the wind knocking a tree branch against her window was just—wait…that wasn't her window but her door. Kagome's eyes flew too the parting door to her room. Her head began throbbing. _"Ow. Maybe not as fast next time."_ After the miko blinked a couple of times she realized that Inuyasha had entered with a cup of steaming liquid.

Once the hanyou set the cup down, his gaze shifted to her, and the woman took in a sharp breath at what she saw.

_Pain._

And worry…and guilt. That silent look he was giving her kindled something deep within her being that made her want to reach out and caress that calloused but smooth cheek of his, and the hold his large, rough hand in hers while saying sweet words in his ear. Anything to make that look _go away._

"I-Inuyasha?" Kagome cursed her throat and its dryness and coughed. "Are you okay?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. The unemotional wall in his mind would come crashing down and his eyes would lose their normal lust as soon as he knew that she noticed his feelings.

But to her surprise, that didn't happen. Inuyasha just furrowed his brows further and grimaced while helping her sit up so she could sip out of the cup he brought. After she had taken a long drink the miko was about to repeat herself, thinking he forgot her question…or was avoiding it, but when she parted her lips the hanyou whispered a curt and honest, "No."

Kagome blew out the air she was holding and ditto-ed his worried expression. "What's wrong?"

The half demon immediately looked away and sat on her floor next to her bed. Releasing a sigh, Inuyasha whispered, "I got you sick." Promptly stuffing his hands into his haori sleeves, the dog demon continued, "I was the baka who shoved you down that well, thinking you could protect your own ass better in this time." Gesturing to the modern room they were in, he sighed and ran a clawed hand through his hair. The young woman watched him intently and felt almost close to tears, a sadness washed over her as the demon's ears drooped along with his shoulders- tearing himself up about this. "I didn't fucking protect you, Kagome."

He did it. Tears pricked the miko's eyes as she realized that this was the closest thing to a "sorry" she had ever gotten out of him. And knowing how much he hated to admit _anything_ to_ anyone_ topped it off like a cherry on ice cream. Her tears soon blurred her vision, threatening to fall, but the young woman still knew when it was Inuyasha suddenly crouching beside her bed with a deeper worried expression. Even though the crying made her head feel like it was going to burst, she flung herself into his chest and sobbed, "Don't you _ever_ say that again."

The hanyou was surprised at the roughness of her voice, and blinked down at the girl weeping against his chest with a frown. "Ka-"

"It was my own fault I got sick and you had nothing to do with it." Kagome trembled from a sob and tried to calm herself down. _"Come on, girl. Pull yourself together. He doesn't want you crying all over him."_ The miko sniffed and attempted to drag away from the half demon, and then noticed that he was holding her there.

"Wench…" The dog demon whispered…almost…affectionately. Kagome looked up with red-rimmed eyes to see him give a sad smile, shake his head softly, and then avert his gaze. "Your fever has broken but you're still sick. Get back to bed." The young woman stood as the hanyou loosened his hold, silently guiding her to the soft cushions behind her. When she got situated something snapped in her oddly sickened brain and the miko was suddenly determined to never let go of his haori, eventually pulling the surprised man down with her.

Plus, she was cold.

Inuyasha gave her a look between annoyance and wonder at what she was doing and was about to open his mouth to ask why she wanted him near her, but Kagome interrupted. "Stay here. Please?" The hanyou pressed his lips together as if he was deciding whether or not to break a demeaning law and quirked an eyebrow. "I-I just had a bad dream."

The dog demon didn't need any more encouragement. His arms slipped around her thin waist. "Nightmare." Inuyasha corrected with the worried look still plaguing his seraphic features. "Go to sleep."

As if on cue, Kagome yawned. "You'll be here when I wake up?" She slurred, feeling tired and feverish.

The hanyou continued to be appalled at the young woman in his grasp._"Why the hell does she want a half demon to hold her again?"_ Subconsciously pulling her closer, he whispered, "Sure."

-----

A few hours later, when the overcast sky began to welcome the oncoming dusk, a particular young miko opened her eyes prettily- batting dark lashes and all- to a wall of red. A sort of comforting warmth was emitting from this red wall, so she pressed her freezing digits against it. They heated up pretty quickly.

"_Wait, red _wall_? Am I dumb or something?"_ Kagome looked up and blinked at the soft, thin lips the seemed a little too close to her forehead. The memories of her and Inuyasha kissing while they were still half asleep and that spontaneous one in the woods flashed in her mind's eye. The girl blushed.

Not wanting to leave the euphoria of his hold, Kagome loosened his arms around her only slightly so she could gaze at him comfortably. First his ears. The fragile, velvety triangles adorning his silver head gracefully twitched even in slumber. His hair; silky smooth to the touch easily wound about her fingers and the miko mutely wished that she would be able to run them through it in the future (AN- no pun intended) without him complaining in some way. The hanyou's black eyebrows arched delicately above his lidded eyes that usually had liquid gold orbs in their wake. His nose sloped charmingly until it came to a small point just above his parted lips. He looked so peaceful when he slept.

Unaware of what she was doing, Kagome gasped loudly and snatched her hand back, quickly realizing that she had been stroking his cheek. She was frozen in Inuyasha's lose arms as she waited for him to wake up; silently praying to whomever was up there that he didn't.

After about a minute, the miko relaxed and tried to steady her racing heartbeat. After another minute, the young woman felt safe enough to place her hand back on his cheek and gently run her fingers down to his jawline. When he didn't respond again, she sighed and smiled at his godly features. Then she felt the dog demon shift about her and she was tugged closer to him. His lips were inches from hers when his eyes daintily opened.

"What are ya doin, Kagome?"

-----

Yeah, I'm a cruel bitch. Why did I make you wait this long? Uh… [No comment

Aijou finally complied after a long and weird dream last night. I thank whomever suggested/wondered/asked if Kagome would get sick. I love you. ;D

Due to the state Aijou is currently in, I am canceling the **What Will Happen Next?!?!?** Bag. Oh, fine. I'll give you a hint.

Maybe another kiss? But this time, actually intended? Yes. That sounds amazing.

Flame away

-KikyouHater-


	13. What is This?

Bleh. I'm updating, so…HA!

**Disclaimer: Does anyone have any idea how annoying these become? No! I don't own Inuyasha. But we all wish we did!!**

Last Sentence—"What are ya doin Kagome?"

-----

Kagome's breath stopped in her throat, and as she tried to swallow…well, she couldn't. Instead, she began choking.

The hanyou immediately drew her up into sitting position and lightly patted her back while firing questions asking if she was okay. The girl meekly nodded but kept on coughing.

When it receded the miko realized that she was comfortably placed in Inuyasha's lap with a clawed hand delicately resting on her hip. Her face grew warm and her nerves were thrown into overdrive. Kagome was tingling all over. "Wench?"

"Hm?" The girl's head spun around to meet his eyes with hers.

A blush slowly formed on Inuyasha's cheeks when he realized how close they were. "Uh…" Their noses brushed against each other. Kagome giggled.

A smirk of his own appeared on the half demon's lips and he dipped down, pressing their mouths together.

Surprised at the bold motion, Kagome gasped into his lips and backed up out of his lap. But Inuyasha was close in pursuit and without breaking their contact, he pushed her onto the bed so she was lying down under him. The demon's silver hair cascaded off of his shoulders and created a silky curtain around them.

After a few moments Kagome was naturally over her shyness and was moving her lips over Inuyasha's just as passionately.

Her fingers dove into the hanyou's soft mane and drew his mouth even closer to hers by pressing a hand to the back of his neck. The demon quickly obliged and slipped his tongue between her lips, earning a pleasant moan from the woman beneath him. Inuyasha gently cupped Kagome's neck and stroked her where her jaw met the base of her ear with his other hand holding him up on the other side of her head.

Suddenly, they both heard a faint call.

"Kagome!"

The couple froze with their lips still on each other's and opened their eyes in fear. It was her mother. "Shit," the hanyou whispered against the miko's lips. He scrambled off of the girl and straightened his haori where it had been shoved from his shoulders.

Still in a daze, Kagome let him yank her up by the arm and re-button her pajama shirt—wait, when had that come undone? The miko mentally shrugged and shook her head to clear it. The sound of her mother's footsteps were coming closer and the young woman felt her cheeks grow hot once again. _"Oh, God. Had I just made-out with him?! _Him_ of all people! He probably thinks--"_

The door swung open just as Inuyasha finished the re-buttoning and Kagome's mother found them standing in the middle of the bedroom waiting for her. "Oh! Good, you're already up." She smiled and didn't seem to notice her daughter's blush. "I expect you two are leaving for the Feudal Era this morning?"

Out of the corner of her eyes, Kagome saw Inuyasha shift his stance, fold his arms, and blush while he mumbled, "If Kagome feels up to it." When the poor creature got two very surprised looks he coughed and amended, "Keh! You know, cause she's been sick and all." Gesturing aimlessly at the miko, his blush became deeper and the girl smiled.

"We'll be down in a minute, Mama. Let me get dressed." Looking around her room, the girl tapped her chin. "Is my book-bag ready?"

"Yes, dear. I did that early this morning." Her mother smiled gently and waved as she walked through the doorway while calling, "Breakfast is downstairs with your pack."

"Thanks, Mama!" Kagome replied as she dug through her drawers. Finding a decent shirt and a pair of jeans, she turned around to find the hanyou still in her room.

It seemed as if the whole house was silent for a while before Inuyasha whispered, "Um, sorry…for…well, you know…" His cheeked appeared to be permanently dyed pink as he averted his golden orbs to the floor.

Though, when the miko began giggling, the demon moved his confused gaze back to hers. Her brief giggle fit subsided as she blushed too. "Ah…um. Forget about it."

-----

All through breakfast, Kagome began noticing something.

A different something. A something that had to do with a particular hanyou.

For one thing, she spotted him, more than once, glancing at her from the corner of his eye and then turn to look another way, blushing.

That was not like Inuyasha at all. The young woman recalled that when she met him, oh, about three years ago, he was rude and nonchalant about her health or feelings and the only thing he was centered on was "The Shards," or, "THE SHARDS!" or, "We have to get those Shards!!"

But…maybe…

"_Nah. Inuyasha is still obsessed with being a full demon, girl. So don't get your hopes up."_ Kagome thought to herself as she bustled about, gathering last minute supplies.

"_But look at how close he's standing to you."_ The miko almost jumped when she heard another part of her mind speak. She prodded the thing with her "mind's finger" and realized it was her conscience.

Without stopping her scavenger hunt for binoculars, Kagome took a small peek at the half demon behind her. He had his hands inches away from her waist; ready to catch her if she lost her balance on the ladder she was standing on. (AN: She's looking on top of some cabinets in a storage house.) The girl let a small grin slip on to her face as she turned back to her searching. _"Oh."_

"_Oh? Oh?! Is that all you can think? He's practically holding you and that's all you can think?"_

Afraid that his hanyou senses might somehow hear her thoughts, Kagome coughed nervously and clambered off of the mini ladder with a pair of binoculars. _"Um…yeah."_ The miko retorted to her conscience. _"He's never actually shown that he cared ever before."_

Inuyasha gave Kagome an odd look as she blushed.

"_That's because you've never actually kissed him like that before."_

As the girl's blush became deeper, the hanyou raised an eyebrow. "Wench?"

"Um…hold on, let me pack this…" The young woman stuffed the binoculars into the fading yellow pack and attempted to lug it onto her shoulders but Inuyasha got there first.

Now it was Kagome's turn to give the odd look.

The hanyou tried to fake innocence as his cheeks grew to be a light pink. "What?"

The miko gave him a bright smile and climbed on to the lip of the well. "Nothing," she chuckled. "Shall we go?"

Inuyasha climbed on next to her and returned the smile with one of his rare ones. "Keh." And suddenly Kagome felt herself pulled into the half demon's chest by a clawed hand on her waist as they were both flung into the past.

-----

Yeah, I know it's really short, but at least I updated, eh? I might be able to get in another chapter tomorrow. Heh, heh, heh… Kouga meets up with Inuyasha and Kagome…again!

The more you _**REVIEW**_ the better the next chapter will be!! Mwahahaha!

I think.

-KikyouHater-


	14. What is Abandon

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-trasha. Rofl XD**

Yes, I'm updating. So, **no running with scissors**!!

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Kagome felt her feet touch the ground at the bottom of the well for only a millisecond. Then she was lifted in a pair of arms once again by her hanyou, who leapt into the darkening sky.

The couple in the air slowly descended as they spotted their friends rushing toward the clearing. Kagome smiled as the taijiya sprinted up to her and enveloped the miko in the biggest embrace known to man. "Oh, Kagome! I thought you were never going to come back! I was so worried! That baka ruined our lives by shoving you down that time traveling contraption!! Shippo's been miserable and crying every night…the whole hut has been depressed! Even the village--"

The miko decided to intervene before Sango became too carried away and gently pulled out of her hug. "Shh. It's okay, Sango. I'm here now." The young woman's breath caught in her throat as she witnessed the slayer's tears. "Oh, Sango!" The women held each other close again. "I missed you too," she sniffed. After a moment they let go and Sango stood aside while wiping her tears to let Miroku greet the young priestess.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha hung about at Kagome's side, not too far away, and tried to stop from growling as the monk embraced the miko, even though he didn't do anything lecherous.

"I missed your joyful presence, Lady Kagome." Miroku smiled as he stepped away, letting a very anxious fox demon tackle Kagome down with the largest hug he could manage. The hanyou was quickly becoming more and more remorseful, seeing that his friends had endured so much pain because of him. He looked away as the girl kissed Shippo's cheeks, making his tears disappear.

"Oh, no, no, no, no…Shippo, honey, don't cry…" Kagome choked on her own words in reaction to the lump in her throat that brought on heavy tears. "Shh…" The miko let out a sob and enveloped the little kit in her arms and went down on her knees.

Instincts kicked in. Inuyasha was kneeling at her side like the flash of lighting with thunder.

The poor fox demon's crying soon dissipated, and he watched with worry as the hanyou set him gently out of Kagome's grasp. "Kagome? Kagome, talk to me." The dog demon cooed. Shaking her shoulders, he tried again but with a different tactic. "Kagome. Stop. You're back in the Feudal Era. You're safe. Now stop."

The other three in the gang of shard hunters looked on in awe, Inuyasha never appeared so…caring.

Another wave of sobs overtook the woman's small frame and she leaned into the hanyou's chest. Peering down at her, Inuyasha furrowed his brows as if in pain and stroked her soft raven locks. Seeing as the other tries to cease her crying didn't work, the demon attempted something unlike him entirely.

He showed his feelings a bit more.

Taking a deep breath, the hanyou whispered with shame written all over his expression, "Kagome…please. I'm sorry. Don't do this. It-it hurts…it hurts when you cry." Giving into the urge to bury his nose in her hair, Inuyasha growled. "I know I'm an idiot. Just please stop."

That got her attention. And the attention of her friends. They stood still in wonder, anticipating the hanyou's next move. Kagome lifted her head and didn't bother to wipe her cheeks clean even though her tears had subsided. The miko's watery, cinnamon eyes met his golden ones and she sighed, looking away. "It's okay…" she sniffed and whispered shakily. "It's just that, with everything going on right now…" She stifled a sob and then turned on him with a look between anger and pure sorrow. "I mean, really, Inuyasha. My grandfather just died! Did you really think I wanted to be away from people I love?!" A lone tear slipped down her cheek, unchecked.

The hanyou cringed. He had a feeling that he was long over due for a good extensive yelling about this. But then something she had said eased his mind a bit. Something she had mentioned before… _"'…people I love?!' But that means everyone else too. She could have meant…"_

"Inu-trasha!!!"

Everyone in the clearing immediately stiffened except Inuyasha who growled dangerously and stood while drawing Kagome closer to his body.

"_Kouga."_

"What did you do to my Kagome?!" Making himself visible, the wolf demon halted in front of the group with a very, very pissed off gaze. This gaze was aimed at a certain half demon.

Kagome turned around to face the pissed demon and noted that the man behind her didn't relinquish his hold from around her torso. "Kouga, I'm fine. Inuyasha and I were just--"

"Kagome, you stay out of this!" Kouga interrupted and sliced off her sentence with a gesture of his hand. "I know this…_filth…_ did something to you, my dear, and I've come to set him straight!!" The wolf cracked his knuckles in challenge, but a confused look overcame his features when he realized that Inuyasha hadn't moved.

The miko closed her eyes and tried to calm herself so she could concentrate on the fight about to happen. _"Wait a minute…"_ Reopening them, Kagome felt the hanyou still behind her, clutching her to him possessively. _"He didn't move?"_ The woman looked off to her right at her friends who appeared just confused as she and Kouga. _"The Inuyasha I know would already be at Kouga's throat, but…"_ Kagome became aware of a loud but dark, threatening growl rumbling throughout his body. _"He's just…boy, that's a scary growl. I've never heard him like this before."_ The miko resisted the desire to shiver that was crawling up her spine. With two demons locked in this "preparing for combat" mode, it made Kagome's miko powers rise. But she knew that if she were to do anything, it wouldn't be to fight. So, the woman suppressed her powers and became calm once more.

"What are ya waiting for, Dog Shit?!" Kouga's piercing blue stare flicked from Kagome to Inuyasha. He seemed almost afraid. _"He's not wildly attacking like he usually does…What's going on? It's like he's planning. Actually taking his time. That's so unlike him though." _The wolf's brows furrowed. _"And Kagome. My sweet Kagome looks as if she wants to be there! She wants to be in his arms!!"_ The full demon bared his fangs and snorted. _"I'll rip them off of her if I have to…"_

Then without a warning, Kouga lunged at the two, faster than any human eye could see.

Inuyasha clutched Kagome closer and easily sidestepped the wolf demon. Kouga landed not to far away and skidded to a stop. Whipping his head up to meet the hanyou's calculating, golden gaze, he flashed his teeth at him. But it wasn't a smile. "What are you waiting for, Inu-trasha?! Come and get me!"

Kagome suddenly felt her hanyou's muscles tighten behind her and she whispered to herself, "Please don't do anything rash."

Then an unexpected breath was at her ear, "Don't worry, I won't." Kagome gave the smallest gasp possible and mentally smiled. The miko was then pushed behind Inuyasha's back as he took a protective pose in front of her.

Kouga was getting angrier by the second. "Stop handling my woman like that! Only I can touch her that way!!" The wolf growled. Kagome had never seen any of them this ticked off before. She saw Inuyasha shake with rage before her and prayed that he wasn't going to change…

A loud snarl abruptly ripped from the hanyou's throat and there was a rumbling undertone of a growl, as he spoke, "Kagome isn't your woman."

Then Inuyasha leapt and Kouga met him in mid air.

The fight began.

-----

It seemed to go on for hours. But the two were moving so fast; in reality it was only a minute. Kouga managed to create a gash down Inuyasha's back but he was finally knocked to the floor with the hanyou's clawed hand gripping the wolf's neck. It was getting way out of control. The demon prince was struggling under the dog demon's pressure when it came to Kagome out of the blue. _"They're fighting for real this time. To…to the…the death."_ The miko's breathing became shallow and she suddenly felt as if she was going to faint. She weakly raised her hand as if to stop them. Kagome may not love Kouga, but she didn't want him to _die._

"Stop!" The young priestess blinked. Was that her? Yes.

The two demons looked at her simultaneously and Inuyasha growled audibly. "Stay out of this, Kagome, I don't want you to get hurt." The hanyou appeared to be fighting the urge to continue his assault on Kouga as he spoke again. "Just. Stay. Out."

But the girl was stubborn. Sango and Miroku, even Shippo tried to pull her away, but Kagome fought back. "I don't want you killed!" This she aimed at Inuyasha.

The hanyou ignored her and tightened his hold on the still resisting wolf demon. His voice seemed strained as he yelled at the taijiya and monk, "Take her out of here! If I'm not back by tomorrow morning…" His breathing became heavier as Kouga slowly fought back harder and let out an inhuman roar. The miko's eyes widened as she gasped in fear, _"Is he…transforming? Like Sesshoumaru?" _ Inuyasha's golden orbs flicked to Kagome's and the gazes locked. She saw something in his eyes... They were apologetic.

"Come on, Kagome!" Sango yelled worriedly while tugging on her friend's arms.

The miko attempted to twist out of her friend's grasp as she heaved a dry sob. "No!! **Inuyashaaa!!!**" Kagome screamed as she was grabbed by her waist forcefully, with her arms pinned behind her. "Sango!! Miroku!! Let me go!!!" she wailed. Tears were streaming down her face as the woman glimpsed Inuyasha and Kouga through the trees for the last time.

Her hanyou wasn't looking at her anymore but had his full attention on the growing wolf demon in his hold. Inuyasha abruptly flung himself away from the huge wolf and unshealthed the Tetsusaiga. _"He _is_ transforming!! Inuyasha will __**die!**__"_

Kagome screamed his name into the fading sunset as her friends strapped her to Kirara and took her far away.

"INUYASHAAA!!!"

-----

So I asked myself, if Sesshoumaru can transform, why can't Kouga?

And myself said, hmm…I like where this is going.

Yes. I will update soon.

-KikyouHater-


	15. What is Return

**Disclaimer: I am officially disclaiming…not that I ever **_**did**_**claim…that I own Inuyasha in any way, shape, or form and nothing may change that no matter how much I want it to be changed.**

Now…where was I? Ah, yes.

----

Her body was limp with exhaust.

During some point in the journey over to a quiet neighboring village, Kagome's tears dried on her face as her eyes closed from fatigue. Sango gently held the girl on her lap, frightened that she might struggle while she slept to get back to her beloved hanyou.

Shippo, who was sitting behind the demon slayer and monk, chose to be oddly silent as he thought of a life without his adopted father (the kit thought him of such no matter how much Inuyasha would deny it…) and eventually climbed into Miroku's lap and slept also, shedding a few tears in the process. The monk smiled sadly as he stroked the young fox demon's hair, which was becoming tangled in the strong breeze from Kirara's flight.

Looking back at the houshi, Sango whispered as loudly as she could so she wouldn't wake up the young priestess in her arms but still be heard over the fervent wind, "Do you think he'll make it?"

Miroku examined the taijiya's expression and sadly shook his head, knowing that she was speaking of Inuyasha. "I don't know Sango. But for Kagome's sake…for all of our sakes…I hope…" He trailed off, glancing back at where they came. The neighboring town was far away enough to not see any traces of Kaede's village but close enough to get back quickly. Miroku sighed, wishing that he could somehow tell if the hanyou was still alive. "Do you think," He hesitated and then turned back around to meet Sango's gaze again, "Do you think we should have stayed?"

The woman's bottom lip trembled as a tear slipped down her cheek. "He wanted me to protect Kagome for him…" Sango choked down a sob, now embarrassed that she had cried in front of the monk. "But…" she averted her eyes. Miroku leaned over and touched his fingers to her cheek and wiped away the tear with his thumb. Lifting her gaze to his again, Sango sniffed and admitted, "I don't want him to die. I wouldn't want any of you to die." She blushed, placed her palm over his hand that was resting on the side of her face, and whispered, "You're all like my family."

Miroku forced a hopeful smile and let one of his own tears fall, "He'll come back, and don't worry," he let a true smile show this time, "If there's anything that I learned about Inuyasha the whole time I've known him, it's this- He's too stubborn to die, show his feelings, and to _ever_ leave Kagome. No matter how much he thinks it right for her, he's always wrong."

-----

A young priestess awoke in the grey light of the early morning. Sitting up in her sleeping bag, she rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands and nonchalantly looked around. "Boy, what a bad dream…" she whispered into the quite room. The miko blinked a few times suddenly realizing that she didn't recognize this hut. But her friends were there…

Sango snored quietly to her right, next to Kirara, and Miroku sighed in slumber with Shippo curled near his head across a fire pit.

A wave of memories abruptly came surging through her mind like a collection of her nightmares already come true. _"Inuyasha."_ In a flourish of sheets, Kagome was out of her bed and peering through the doorway to the foggy morning. A tear managed to slip down her cheek. "Inuyasha…"

"'_If I'm not back by morning…'"_

Hearing some rustling behind her, the woman turned halfway to meet the eyes of her friend the taijiya. "Kagome?" The slayer stood tiredly and walked over to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "What are you doing up so early?"

Kagome almost choked on her words to keep form crying, "Waiting for him…" she sniffed and tried to ignore her friend who kept encouraging her to keep on hoping with words promising of his return.

The fog was beginning to clear partially so the girl could see other huts surrounding theirs and a small pathway that lead to the forest.

Sango forced a poignant smile and turned to start a fire for breakfast.

-----

After an hour of waiting, Kagome was still standing faithfully by the door. The monk had woken not much later than the women and calmly suggested that he get rice from the landowner for their meal and trooped out into the light fog to ask.

Morning soon blossomed and there were quite a few villagers bustling about in the market outside the group's hut, and yet the fog still did not lift, no matter how light it seemed. Eventually, Kagome was called away from the doorway for breakfast and she reluctantly sat down with her friends after taking one last glance behind the swishing mat._ "He said he'd be back. He has to come back…he has to…"_ The young miko created a chant in her head to keep form crying while she ate and didn't notice she was rocking back and forth until Sango set a hand on her knee to stop her. The worried friend and monk exchanged a knowing look, but before they could get anything out of their mouths, a faint shout was heard from outside.

Kagome was the first to the door, and as she pulled the mat away, she saw many women tugging their children back inside their huts while men rushed along the pathway to the forest. A few more shouts of fear emitted from up ahead, but the fog made everything unclear from that far away.

Feeling a strange tug at her soul where her spiritual powers resided, Kagome hovered by the door for a second before taking off towards the mob of men. As the woman passed them, she realized that most of them were wielding different kinds of weapons. She could now make out the raised voices. "…Creature from hell!" One said.

"He came to destroy us!" Another man shouted.

"Why would we bother to help you?" A different masculine voice boomed "Half-breed!"

There was the sound of a boot hitting flesh and the thud of a body falling to the ground.

Kagome pushed against the people around her, her heart pounding a hundred times a minute.

Some other voice rose, "We should just kill it!"

Shouts of agreement were heard.

The miko almost began crying again. She couldn't get through! "Let me by!" She yelled. "Move!" Shoving men out of the way, Kagome reached the center to find a familiar young man clad in a red haori with blood coating his silver hair, lying on the ground. She gasped.

"Inuyasha!!" The young woman screamed as she reached the hanyou. Immediately, everything Kagome was thinking at the moment flew out of her mind. She rushed up to the wounded demon and cradled his limp and bloodied head in her arms, not caring that she was ruing her pants by kneeling in his blood. The hanyou was out cold.

The circle of village men gaped and murmured surprised remarks at her display of affection for the young demon but suddenly became afraid when the miko turned on them harshly.

Never letting go of Inuyasha, the young priestess whipped around to face the crowd of men. "What is wrong with you?" She asked in a deadly calm tone. A tear slid down her face, contrasting greatly to her furious expression. "How _dare_ you hurt him, or even_ think_ about hurting him." Her voice was so rough with emotion; the men began to back away. Some who were close enough even felt her spiritual powers rise dangerously so her body glowed a faint pink as the girl shook with rage.

"Kagome!" Glad for a distraction, the village men slowly faced Sango's voice and let her and Miroku to the center. "Kagome." The taijiya greeted more gently when they reached her.

In reaction, the miko clutched the hanyou closer to her body and looked at her friends threateningly. More angry tears welled up in her eyes as she gritted her teeth, whispering, "They were going to hurt him." The woman's brown orbs flicked to the men surrounding them, daring anyone to challenge her.

"Shh…Kagome, it's okay. Inuyasha is going to be fine." Sango glanced at Miroku and nodded briefly. The monk then faced the group of men and began shooing them away while the slayer whispered, "Help me get him to the hut, alright?"

Looking down at her unconscious bundle, the girl stroked the dirty bangs out of his closed eyes affectionately and barely nodded.

As Kagome and Sango tenderly carried the hanyou to their hut, Miroku finally managed to scatter the village men. They were now gazing disapprovingly at the three as they resumed their chores and pretended like nothing happened just to save themselves from an emotionally unstable priestess.

-----

Once inside, the slayer ordered the monk to go fetch a bucket of water while she gathered some sewing supplies. When they had carried the hanyou, Kagome had found the large gash down his back. It curved from his right shoulder and in a jagged line, ended at his left hip. The most blood loss came from that wound, but there was another that obviously came from sharp claws racking diagonally down his chest to his stomach. Those were the main wounds, but there might have been broken bones that the two women didn't notice. So, the miko took time to gently press different chest, arms and legs while she applied the healing salve and bandages.

Watching the young priestess carefully, making sure she didn't need to leave the room (though, she probably wouldn't even if she was forced to), Sango noticed Kagome reach over to stroke Inuyasha's face or smooth away his bangs every time he produced a sound of pain. The hanyou's expression would, in turn, become calm once more just by her touch.

Allowing a tiny grin on her face, the taijiya resumed cleaning off his small cuts and scratches.

-----

Inuyasha woke to silence. Blinking his bleary eyes, the hanyou faintly remembered fighting Kouga and then somehow making his mad dash to Kagome. Though the memories were quite foggy, the demon did recall hearing her voice after running into some angry villagers. But following that…there was nothing.

Attempting to sit up, Inuyasha grunted as a stab of pain stretched across his back. He tried to ignore the sting, as he looked down at his chest that bore something limp and heavy. A mass of raven black hair met his unfocused gaze and through the throbbing in his brain, the hanyou managed to smile before sliding back onto the mat he had slept on.

Eventually, Kagome's breathing became heavier as she slowly woke and Inuyasha's heartbeat increased with it. The hanyou was yearning to see her face, look into her eyes and beg her forgiveness. _"Why do I always have to screw up with her?"_ Sighing, he felt the young miko lift her head ever so slightly and then fully sit up. She rubbed her eyes for a moment or two and then sleepily blinked and met the half demon's golden stare.

Kagome couldn't help but smile. "Inuyasha?"

The hanyou meekly returned it with a small grin. "Kagome."

"You came back!" Squealing, the priestess threw herself at him, earning an, "oof" from the demon as he was smothered by her.

But Inuyasha didn't care. Fully awake now, he lifted his arms and drew the woman closer to him, delving his sensitive nose into her soft, black locks. "Of course I came back, wench." The hanyou chided and noticed that the miko didn't tense up or get mad at his name-calling like she usually did. "I'd never want to leave you."

Kagome gently pulled away somewhat to look into his eyes, whispering, "You mean that?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly after he realized what he said and he averted his eyes. "Keh." Blushing, he added, "Don't look too much into--"

But the half demon never managed to finish his sentence before Kagome's lips tenderly met his.

-----

I'll get to how the battle went with Inu vs. Kouga in the next chapter, but for now, I thought you guys needed some fluff to apologize for that darn cliffy I left you in.

_Heh, heh, heh…_

I don't mean to be bitchy, but…_**REVIEW!**_ I gave you 8 pages on _Word_ for goodness sakes. ROFL

-KikyouHater-


	16. What is that thing in your heart

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha blah, I do not own blah…blah, blah, and blah…**

Who's ready for a stuffed chapter!?!?!? I am!

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Sango awoke staring at the hut wall. Rubbing her eyes, she turned over on her mat to find the cause of clinking pots and pans. Inuyasha was poking the lazy fire with a stick as he sat on his futon, every once in a while scratching at his bandages. They were obviously becoming annoying, but the slayer noticed, he had the oddest expression on his face and in his eyes. Each time Kagome moved to get some rice or another spoon, his golden orbs flicked to her and he gave a slight smile.

The taijiya tried to be quiet as she gaped at the hanyou. Blinking, she attempted to decipher if she was dreaming or not while the miko met one of his gazes and blushed, turning back to the pot on the fire, but not before kissing the demon lightly on the cheek. Silently gasping, Sango covered her mouth and looked at Inuyasha to gauge his reaction. And to her surprise, he only blushed slightly before leaning over and nuzzling the woman's hair. _"Oh, Kami-sama! Have they—Did they—Oh, God!! They did! He told her that he loves her!"_ The demon slayer suppressed her excitement for the two and lay there quietly, giving them extra time to be "alone".

----

After Kagome had kissed the dog demon, all of the things that mattered to both of them flew out the widow passion that had been created by their lips moving lovingly over the other's mouths. There was no Naraku, there was not a dead woman seeking revenge on the half demon, there was no hating youkai brother, no death in the family, no well keeping them apart, no disasters. Just them.

Inuyasha could hear the miko's heart beat in sync with his- a hundred times a second- and suddenly he knew that this wasn't any form of lust that was surging through his veins, but…could it be love?

Was it love for the woman in his arms that caused him to worry over her every day that she was not with him? Was it love that made his demon blood boil when another potential male decided to claim her? Was it love that had him gazing at her every night as she slept? Was it love that made him protect her? Was it love that had him smiling when she came back to him? Was it love that made his heart beat for her? Was it more than just companionship? Or was it just Kagome that made him love her?

Throwing each thought that came to him of his longing for the young woman into their kiss, Kagome nearly suffocated. Gasping, she made an effort to pull away, but a clawed hand was immediately placed on the back of her neck, pressing her even closer. _"Inuyasha…"_ During the intense moment, Kagome realized what he was trying to say. Tears welled up behind her closed lids. _"I love you too." _The priestess brought her hands up to the sides of his face and returned the message with the same amount of fervor.

In what seemed like too soon, the couple pulled away. Their eyes locked and they didn't look away from each other for what seemed like a millennia. Inuyasha reached up and brushed her ebony bangs out of her face, breaking the moment. Stepping up and off of the hanyou, when the woman noted that she was straddling his waist, Kagome met his gaze. His golden orbs betrayed nothing. "Kagome?" the demon shifted uncomfortably and sat up as a blush seeped to his high cheekbones. Sighing, Inuyasha prepared himself. "I didn't mean to scare you. I only wanted you safe."

It was then that Kagome realized that he was speaking about his situation with Kouga. "Hmm." Sitting down next to the injured half demon, the miko placed a hand on his chest so he fell gently back onto the mat with a small grunt. She looked into the dying fire, her expression saddening.

"Kagome--"

"I just wish that you would trust me more." The woman sighed. "I could have helped you, Inuyasha, and then you wouldn't have been so wounded." Turning back to him, she challenged, "Why won't you let me help you? I'm not **that** useless am I?"

The dog demon winced and defiantly retorted. "Why won't I? Well, for one thing, I…" The hanyou trailed off as if he was searching for the right words.

In reaction, the girl gave a light snort and looked back at the fire, which was idly coughing tendrils of smoke as it died. "Stop trying to deny it."

Inuyasha gritted his teeth at her stubbornness and marveled at how much of him had rubbed off onto her. He growled, "Kagome. Listen--"

"There's nothing to deny!" Her back was now facing him and he could tell that her arms were crossed. This made anger stew in his veins. She wasn't listening! The demon's claws dug into the mat beneath him. "You think I need protection, well…that might be the truth, but it gives you no right to take me away from you! When can I say that you need protection? Am I such a burden that I'm not a help to anyone here?" Her eyes watered with tears, but she didn't know if they were from rage or misery.

Ignoring the searing pain from his chest and back, the hanyou jerked the priestess by the shoulders and whipped her around to face him. "How many times do I have to say this, Kagome? How many? 'Cause, damn it, I wish I knew so I could finally get it through your head!"

The miko's arms unfolded and fell into her lap as he shook her. Looking down at them silently, her tears fell also.

Inuyasha sighed. Why did she have to cry now? Lifting her chin, he pierced her gaze with his golden spheres and wiped her cheeks dry. "Shit, Kagome."

The woman abruptly tore her face from his grasp and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry," she whispered, her voice clipped. "I didn't mean to cry."

His lips curled back in a snarl. "Stop it and look at me," the hanyou rumbled. Her brown eyes met his golden ones. "And listen up, because I'm only going to say this once." Inuyasha captured her chin in between his fingers again and whispered, "You are not useless. I **want** to protect you. I trust you with my life…" Deflating, he sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. "I just don't trust me with yours…" Noticing that her expression darkened after his last statement, he continued, "I'm a half demon, Kagome." Pointing to his chest, he repeated, "Half demon. I'm the lowest of the low when it comes to species. If I weren't so selfish, I would have kept you in your time because I seriously think you're safer there than staying around me--"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome frowned and then did something he wouldn't ever expect.

She slapped him.

And it was hard. One of those that make your head turn 90 degrees. Blinking, the hanyou tried to fight away the sting and the ringing in his ears. "Don't say that!" Kagome breathed. She sounded close to tears again. Anger bubbling back up in him again, Inuyasha met her eyes. Poking him in the chest, the miko whispered, "If your so low on the species chain, how come…" She took a shaky breath with her thoughts running though her mind a mile a minute. "How come…I love you?" The half demon had to lean in to hear her she whispered it so quietly.

Time froze.

Sure, they had both said it through their kiss, but to say it aloud was a different prospect. In Inuyasha's head, he was struggling to keep control, _"She loves me. She loves me. She loves me. Kagome loves me."_ He fought to breathe.

"_Well, say something back, you idiot!"_ The Miroku in his brain fired.

Kagome's thoughts were a little different, _"What were you thinking!? He's so shocked that you would even tell him that! What about Kikyou? Huh!?"_

"_Crap, you're in for it now, Kags."_ Her conscience prodded when she saw him take a deep breath.

"Good." The hanyou whispered back. Still gasping, he managed to choke out, "likewise," before the two were kissing again.

-----

Out of the corner of her eyes, Sango saw Miroku shift in his futon and yawn quite loudly. _"Oh, great. The idiot was awake the whole time too."_ Directing her gaze back to the priestess and half demon, she watched with amusement as Kagome positioned herself a little farther from the hanyou and continued cooking breakfast.

Meanwhile, Miroku stood and stretched. "Mmmm…what's for breakfast, Lady Kagome?"

Looking up at the houshi, she smiled and responded, "Rice. And tons of it." The miko met Inuyasha's eyes accidentally or not, and a light blush dusted her cheeks. Averting her brown orbs back to the fire, she gave the grain one last stir and reached for the pot. "Get your bowl ready, Miroku." The monk raised an eyebrow at her blush but didn't question because of the nasty look the half demon gave him.

A little while later, Sango "woke up" along with Shippo, who wasn't really asleep the whole time either, and the group of companions had breakfast together.

"Any Shard rumors?" Inuyasha spoke up after finishing his rice.

Sango was about to announce something, but Kagome beat her to it, "Inuyasha, you're injured!" Miroku, Shippo, and Sango glanced at each other; exchanging knowing looks as Kagome placed a hand on his. The couple didn't realize when their fingers intertwined but were nose to nose in argument.

"I'll be fine, Kagome!"

"You might be, but what if we find some really powerful demon we can't handle? Then what? Do I stand on the sidelines like always and pray that you can protect us with a mangled body!? No! I want you alive. You're staying right here, mister!" And with that, she shoved him onto his futon where he plopped down in a huff. After some time, a tint of pink began to spread across the miko's cheeks as she noted where her hand was confined.

"Kagome, I'm stronger than you think I am." She felt him close to her again and was completely aware of the audience they had.

"No." The young woman sniffed and looked off in another direction.

"Come on, this is a chance to get ahead of Naraku…" Were they hearing what they thought they were hearing? Inuyasha was asking for permission! "I'll be careful."

"Shards aren't more important than your health, Inuyasha." As coolly as possible, Kagome pulled her hand out of his grasp and stomped outside, whispering, "I want you safe too."

Once she was gone, the hanyou growled, "Doesn't understand…" He muttered, "Baka wench…"

"Inuyasha," Miroku sat up straighter as he addressed the half demon. "May I inquire what has happened between you and the Lady Kagome? You both seem awfully closer…"

"May inquire my ass! Shut your trap, you lecher!" Inuyasha snarled.

Sango sighed, "As much as I **hate**," she directed the word at the houshi, "to admit this…Inuyasha, Miroku's right. What happened? We all have to right to know."

With all of them having a pretty good idea of what transferred concerning the couple, the gang was mildly surprised when the hanyou whispered fiercely, "I love the bitch, but she's so damn confusing!" He pounded his fist on the mat and blushed in spite of himself.

Smiles and knowing grins immediately spread across all of the faces in the room, including Kirara. "Well," Miroku began, "You can't blame her for wanting to protect you too, Inuyasha."

"It would make everything a hell of a lot easier if she didn't!" The demon retorted, still blushing.

"But then she wouldn't be Kagome, Inuyasha." Sango replied with a soft laugh at his nervous attitude.

"Yeah, you baka!" Shippo piped up.

"Keh!" Scoffing, he crossed his arms.

After a moment of silence, Miroku spoke again with a devilish grin, "So tell us, Inuyasha, what are the exact details of when you--"

_THUNK._

"What he means is," Sango said as she returned her Hiraikotsu back against the wall calmly, "What occurred during your battle with Kouga?"

The hanyou shook his head at the twitching monk on the floor. Returning his gaze to Sango, he shifted, "I'd rather get Kagome back here before I get into it."

The taijiya barely got the chance to nod before Inuyasha leapt off his futon and practically ripped the hanging mat off its ties.

Sango briefly chuckled, "I guess he's deathly afraid of ruining anything he has with Kagome that he tried so hard not to let her know about." She looked at Shippo and Kirara before smiling wider, "Kinda weird, huh?" The kitsune nodded as the neko demon mewed.

And Miroku just twitched with that lecherous grin still plastered to his face.

-----

So I lied. The story of Kouga and whatnot is **next** chapter.

I had better get _**A LOT OF REVIEWS**_ for this one because for one, THEY FRIKKIN LOVE EACH OTHER. (Did I do well???!?!?) Two, MY BUTT HURTS FROM SITTING AT THE COMPUTER FOR FIVE HOURS STRAIGHT, TYPING YOU GUYS AN F-ING AMOUT OF WORDS. And three, YOU LOVE ME TOO!! XD

-KikyouHater-


	17. What is Mine

Don't kill me just because I haven't been on in forever. We had to get a new computer so the only time I could get on was at my library.

**Disclaimer: I don't own, so bite me.**

--

Feet padded the earth with distinct thumps as the hanyou ran. Inuyasha took a deep breath from the bottom of his lungs and let it out in a snort. It still pained him to breathe…not too terrible. Sniffing delicately, he leapt into a nearby tree. _"She couldn't have gotten too far…"_ In Inuyasha's back stage mind, his demon sorted out through the scents skillfully and locked on to the priestess's aura in less than a second.

Leaves shuddered as the dog demon flew into the sky, and then gracefully landed not ten feet away from the young miko. Kagome didn't even look up from where she was leaning against a tree, used to Inuyasha sneaking up to her on purpose or not. "I'd like some time alone, thank you." The girl retorted to the unspoken plea for her to return to the hut.

Kagome's ebony bangs covered her eyes, so Inuyasha would have had difficulty discerning her mood…if it wasn't for her scent. The sour odor of sadness and anger was surrounding the miko's form. Ignoring her comment completely, the hanyou waltz towards the woman, and looped one arm under her knees with the other around her shoulders. The priestess eep'ed at the sudden movement and then reluctantly snuggled into the warm chest next to her cheek. Inuyasha slowly backed up against the same tree she was previously using and tucked the girl closer to him. Peering up at her protector and lover, the miko reached a small hand up to the man's soft triangles, rubbing one of them gently between her forefinger and thumb. The dog demon spared the woman in his arms a glance, which turned out to be longer than he planned, his hair swishing down from behind his shoulders and dancing around the couple's faces.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha sighed. Shifting her weight, the man nuzzled her neck and nudged her head over to gain better access. Slightly startling the girl, he flicked his tongue out in a sort of apology as the demon lapped the underside of her chin. The hanyou grinned as Kagome gradually and totally relaxed in his hold. He pressed a chaste kiss at the woman's pulse point. Leaning down a bit more, the man soothingly took the lobe of her ear between his fangs and nipped the appendage whispering, "I'm…sorry." His nose made a nest in Kagome's black locks, "I…"

Suddenly, he felt a hand at his cheek, stilling every coherent thought running through his mind at the moment. "I know," the miko whispered back. Relief washed him and turned his bones to water. How come he was at this woman's mercy? Begging her forgiveness, or wanting to, whenever he upset her? Tearing himself apart, and risking his life, his spirit, to save everything she was? The impact of just how much he loved Kagome seemed to hit him full. It forced him to his knees while clutching the woman against his chest. "Inuyasha?" He cursed his human heart for a moment and then blessed it for allowing him to love her in the first place.

"Inuyasha…are you alright?" The demon met her worried gaze and nuzzling the nose, which was just a breath away from his lips. He sighed.

"I'm…so…lucky to have you." He choked out uncharacteristically.

The raven-haired girl snorted cutely to suppress a giggle at the man's antics. "Oh, why, Inuyasha, you are too adorable." Kagome joked as she tapped his nose, much like she would do with Shippo. "Sometimes." She added, laughing outright.

"Keh!" Inuyasha averted his eyes, playing along with the girl in his arms.

Sneaking a look back at the young miko, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. The hanyou set her down on her own two feet. "Let's just get beck to the others, wench." The demon refused to meet her gaze as they silently walked back to the hut. He was immensely embarrassed about the amount of emotion he had just shown near the woods. Feeling a dainty hand slip into his, Inuyasha's golden eyes widened and he peeked down at the priestess next to him.

Kagome smiled gently and squeezed his hand. The half demon immediately looked away with a strip of pink dusting across his cheeks. Finally, the two reached the hut and the miko prepared for instant emotional block from the hanyou.

…But to her surprise, as they entered, all Inuyasha did was squeeze her hand back.

--

A tender fire blazed at the center of the hut. A fluffy tail could be seen twitching along with two arms and legs as Shippo slept. Mumbling something about "baka rabbits", he flipped over and began snoring softly, curled up in Kagome's sleeping bag from the future.

The miko, who was settled next to the bag, smiled and gently reached over, brushing the rust coloured bangs from the kit's eyes.

Noticing that the young priestess was occupied, just when he was about begin explaining the "Kouga issue", as he dubbed it, the demon scowled, rolling his eyes. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Inuyasha scooted closer to Kagome and lifted her up and over, into his lap with two clawed hands carefully resting on her hips. At first, the girl protested, but seeing as to how she was holding everyone up, she closed her mouth and snuggled gratefully in her protector's embrace.

Sango could be seen rolling her eyes from across the flames along with Miroku, who was patiently waiting with his staff jingling quietly in one hand. "Now, Inuyasha, would be the appropriate time to discuss you deal with Kouga, am I right?" The monk prodded.

Sighing, the hanyou looked down and smoothed Kagome's hair out of her eyes. Raising his golden orbs once more, he spoke, "Yeah." Nervously, the demon cleared his throat again and ran clawed fingers through his sliver locks. "After you left, it was harder to get a hold of him. I wanted to calm him down as much as possible, maybe to get him to change back…I'm not sure, but I didn't want to kill him. But he went so fast, he-he was fully transformed, plus, he had two jewel shards in his legs, I could barely stand up to him…" Kagome rested a hand on top of one of Inuyasha's, her calming scent wrapping around him. Taking a deep breath, the hanyou continued, "So after a while of just holding his attacks back with weak defenses, I decided that if I was ever going to get out of there alive, I had to attack back." Inuyasha paused and then began in a lower tone, "I…I think I killed him with the Bakuryuha." Immediately, the hanyou felt the girl in his hold stiffen.

Miroku's eyes widened as Sango gasped, "Do you really think that could happen, Inuyasha?" The taijiya whispered, "Do you really think, that even with the jewel shards embedded in his legs, you killed Kouga?"

The dog demon shook his head to clear it and shrugged, "I don't know, everything's so foggy, I'm not really sure what happened…he sent an attack, and I deflected it—barely. He sent another, and I drew the Tetsusaiga and did Bakuryuha. Afterwards, when the dust cleared, he wasn't there, except for the gash left by Bakuryuha."

Kagome could see Inuyasha's face in her minds eye, and from his tone of voice, he sounded regretful and…waiting to be punished. The notion of Kouga being killed had set her on edge, he was a good friend of hers, annoying and bigheaded, but what full demon wasn't? To Inuyasha, he was just competition, right? But in the way he explained it, it sounded like he was killing off a companion. The young miko replaced her hand on his and brushed her thumb back and forth across his fingers.

With the priestess slowly relaxing again and her pleasant touch, Inuyasha continued, trying to bring hope to the group. "He might have escaped though, I was too weak to check his scent, but with those jewel shards in his legs, somehow, I doubt he's dead."

The monk shifted from across the fire, his staff clanking delicately. "Then, does that mean there could still be a fully transformed demon barraging the forests and towns nearby?" He looked to the demon slayer, who was inspecting the dimming fire in front of them.

"It could." She whispered. "From what I gather from Inuyasha's story, he's not dead. Every sign points to that." Sango paused and the hanyou felt Kagome snuggle further into his chest. He managed to smile fleetingly. "If Kagome is what Kouga's after, a demon will go to any limit to save or claim his chosen." At the tightened hold on her waist, the miko gulped. "He's probably still out there fully transformed and ready to take back what he thinks is his." The taijiya raised her maroon gaze until it landed on the couple across from her. The hanyou had determination in his eyes and the girl with part fear and part sympathy for the wolf, who would have to get his heart crushed. "After Inuyasha heals, I suggest we move out of here and find some rumors about a transformed wolf demon." She looked to Miroku, "agreed?"

The priest nodded and leaned his staff against the hut wall. "And now, _I_ suggest that we all get some sleep."

As the group got ready for bed, Inuyasha slipped Kagome into the sleeping bag with the runt and promised her that he was not but a foot away, leaning on the hut wall with the Tetsusaiga in his grasp. The hanyou sighed. With a bit more rustling, suggestions, and a slap, everyone was quietly taking breather from their daily, hectic lives.

--

Sorry that was kind of short, but hey, I do what I can.

Flames are welcome, but I love a good review.

-KikyouHater-


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